I'll Fight the Flames for You, Emily, Always- Edited Version
by CrimeGirl912
Summary: This is a rewrite of season two, episodes seventeen and eighteen. What-if Kate had a daughter when the bomb went off in her apartment? Can Castle save the both of them in time? Or will it be one over the other? This is an AU to the ending of season two.
1. Prolouge

**Hey guys! This is the re-write and edited version of my original story called "I'll Fight the Flames for You, Emily, Always." I changed a few things from the original and from the show itself. Such as, Alexis is seven, Castle never married Gina, the bomb did not go off in Kate's kitchen, and nobody knows about Emily's existence except for Jim.**

 **Summary: This is a rewrite of season two, episodes seventeen and eighteen. What-if Kate had a daughter when the bomb went off in her apartment? Can Castle save the both of them in time? Or will it be one over the other? This is an AU to the ending of season two.**

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"Kate, are you in there? Kate?!" He yells, debating for a split second on whether or not he should jump on the door or kick it in to knock it down. "Ow, ouch." He picks himself up off the floor of her apartment and gasps for a breath, sucking in what was left of the clean air. "Kate, Kate..." He calls out franticly.

He's attempting to see the hallway connected to her bedroom to the right through the wall of smoke when he can hear the faint cough coming from his left. _Right or left?_ His subconscious is saying right but his gut saying left. _Left._ "Kate?" Fear and hope laces his voice; he needs for her to be alive. He can barely see the charcoaled color hand grasp the side of the cast iron tub, but the relief that spreads through him makes the weight in his chest and anchor on his heart lessen.

He can see her hair pulled back into a tight pony tail that is starting to come loose as she lifts her head before looking back down in pain. She endeavors lifting her body up again when a jolting bolt in her spine sends her down, her chest heaving in a coughing fit. She goes to rest her head on the edge of the tub when her vision clears and she can see _him,_ her partner, the man she has grown to care for over time who is yearning to get to her with debris and parts of the apartment collapsing around him.

Part of the bathroom door is covering her back, shielding her from both the fire and him. She is turned away from him, her lungs still wheezing for air from the fit while his begin to breathe again. "You're alive," he says with a sigh of relief. "Oh, and you're naked." The realization comes to him as he looks down into the tub where she is currently at. "Castle turn around." Beckett says with a bit of annoyance in her voice.

Rick nods and does as she demands to prevent her from shooting him later, plus he was raised to be a gentleman. Once she is done coughing he speaks his thoughts, taking a chance that she won't kill him for what he is about to say. "You know; the apartment _is_ on fire…right now might not be the time for modesty." He watches as the fire spreads with vengeance.

 _He has a point,_ she thinks to herself while bringing her knees up to her chest by wrapping her arms around them and hugging them to her. She takes a few deep breathes to steady herself before she leans back against the tub, her attire really is an inconvenience. "Castle," thoughts of her daughter's welfare cloud her brain, her mind racing into mama bear mode. "Hand me a towel." Kate says and raises her right arm up to him, trying to remain shielded.

He goes to reach for a towel but stops abruptly, "the towels are on fire." He states with worry creeping into his voice even as he tries to hide it for his and her sake. "Well what about the bathrobe?" She asks swerving her head from the left trying to see the rack in which it normally resides on. She can feel the panic rise up from her chest and into her throat leading her to choke. She can barely hear him let alone see anything, the adrenaline coursing through her veins momentarily preventing her from doing much.

He goes to reach for the bathrobe with his left hand, mouth still opening and closing on air when his brain registers the flames that light the room in a soft, golden glow. Changing tactics, he asks her a question instead. "Do have anything that may not be flammable?" Annoyance evident in his voice; annoyance at Dunn, annoyance at himself, there are so many people that he is currently annoyed at. He makes the mistake of turning his head and upper body around to talk to her. "Castle," she hisses and waves her hand for him to turn around before bringing it back down to somewhat cover her breasts.

She thinks she can hear the faint sound of a sorry from him, and yet little does she know that he is already beating himself up, too afraid that he has lost her trust again after working so hard to gain it back. The incident that had occurred last spring is fresh in his memory, the hurt and pained look in her eyes that would betray her facial features for months to come still haunted him at night. The incident that almost made her run back into her ex-boyfriend's arms and end their partnership forever. She chances a glance behind her to see where he is when an idea strikes her. She raises her right arm up, barking out orders and turning into Detective Beckett mode. "Give me your jacket."

Keeping his face trained on the fire ahead of him he quickly slips his jacket off and turns around, but keeps his head turned to the side. Using her left hand to push down and pick herself up Beckett speaks to Castle. "Don't look," she says her words short, yet effective. "I'm not… I'm not looking." Castle states his voice hiding nothing and showing pure honesty. He is holding his jacket up, keeping his head turned to the side with his eyes closed. Castle can feel her eyes on him as she watches his face, gauging his reaction while she leans back against his jacket and he wraps it around her slim figure.

"Alright?" Castle asked, letting go of his jacket hoping she had a good hold on it. Taking a deep breath, she makes sure she is concealed the most she could be before giving him an acknowledgement in response. He turned around, thoughts of how very sexy and hot she looked in his jacket overriding his brain. _What's happening to me?_ He asked himself. Taking her left arm and hand with the left side of his body he let her lean against him while his right arm snaked around her waist and gently picked her up to carry her out of the bath tub.

"I dove into the tub just as it blew." Kate said clinging on to Castle for dear life as she walked on unsteady legs. "Can you walk?" Rick asked holding on to her as he comprehended that her legs were trembling and disagreeing with her trying to walk.

"Ah, yeah, it's just; I'm a little banged up." Kate said hopping on one foot while Castle supported her upper body with his strong muscular form, something that Kate couldn't help but notice. _Jeez. What, did I hit my head when I dove for cover?_ Kate asked herself.

She pushes off of him, trying to walk faster and get to her daughter's room where the little girl had been sound asleep when Kate went to take a shower. She can hear Castle chant behind her, "nice and easy, nice and easy." She stopped for a second and breathed out a yeah to acknowledge him before she turned to look deep into his icy blue eyes and for once didn't see the light that always shone through them. Instead, she saw a worry, scared and confused mature grown-up which startled her more than anything else had during their partnership. Their eyes spoke volumes to each other, and when she was on her way to pass her kitchen her legs gave out and she crumbled into Castles warm and strong embrace as he caught her just in time before she fell to the floor.

"No, no, Castle I have to get to her. I have to get to my daughter." Kate said trying to stand back up as her voice cracked at the end of her sentence. She could see the shock that crossed his face before he quickly schooled his features, a habit that he had been getting better at since he began shadowing her. However, the cough that sputtered up from his chest betrayed his face.

"NO! Kate, NO! I will go get her, but Kate we need to figure the safest way for me to get to her without anyone getting anymore injured, okay?" Castle threw himself into over-protective father mode, one that in any other circumstance she would find to be a major turn-on. She began to observe their surroundings while he rearranged her ankle so that she didn't hurt it any more.

"Uh, okay. Well, it is not that bad in the bathroom and the kitchen which means the bomb had to have gone off on the opposite side of the house." Beckett stated quickly going back into Detective Beckett mode.

"Alright, so the bomb must have gone off down this hallway." Castle said while surveying the damage done to the rooms down the opposite hallway where Kate's bedroom was. He remembered the layout from the night before when he had stayed over, wanting to protect her from that psychopath that apparently was still out there. He looked down to see Kate looking up at him through glossy hazel eyes, he could feel his heart shatter at the pain in them.

Castle walked slowly over to the hallway stopping at the first room on the right and peering in through the slightly ajar door. Rick's eyes scanned across the princess décor in the bedroom before falling on a small lump huddled in the corner of the room on top of the bed. He noticed that the lump held another pair of petrified hazel iris that were so familiar to him afore he spotted the dresser that had fallen on an angle so it was pushing up against the bedroom door. He did not have professional training in bombs or fires, but he knew a point of origin when he spotted one. Having known what was in that room his annoyance towards both Dunn and himself turned into anger and hatred.

"The bomb went off in front of Emily's bedroom and knocked the dresser down on top of the door. I'm going in to get her out."

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 **AN: How was that? Hopefully better?! It is still a little too fluffy, but I did not want to change everything that the younger version of me created. Please review or PM me your thoughts/opinions/suggestions on this chapter!**

 **Another thing, I know that some people did not originally like this first chapter because Emily is mentioned closer to the end and readers said that a real mother would never do that…but this is my story and this is how I imagined that all of these events would take place. So, please be respectful and do not PM or review rude comments. Constructive criticism is always welcomed, and if there is something that you truly are dying to tell me…then PM me, do not leave it in a review.**

 **Thank you!**


	2. The Rescue

**AN: Hey guys, I am trying my hardest to edit the chapters in a timely manner so I can get them uploaded and begin the sequel soon.**

 **Also, I believe I found a beta but as of this moment, I am not one-hundred percent sure. With that being said, I would love to be somebody else's beta! I have a beta profile and I love editing stories!**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned the show…. Emily would be in it. Emily is mine… that's it.**

 _"The bomb went off in front of Emily's bedroom and knocked the dresser down on top of the door. I'm going in to get her out."_

"Castle…." Kate sobbed with tears that were flowing down her cheeks.

"Kate, you need to get out of here! Crawl to the hallway and wait for the firefighters to come and get you. Emily and I won't be far behind." Castle told her while trying to pull her up off of the floor. "Kate, we you to get out of here now!" Castle said as he continued to pick her up only to have her fight against him.

"NO, RICK! I know that this is pretty rude and low but what if that was Alexis in there? Huh? You wouldn't just leave without her in your arms, so PLEASE go pull her out for me, or I will do it myself." Kate stated not moving from her spot, having faith that Castle would go himself. Castle went to respond when they heard a yell from the princess décor room. The partners turned towards each other, Kate's mind racing as her brain registered the scream. He took off in a sprint towards the young girl's bedroom leaving her there against the wall all by herself.

"EMILY? EMILY? Where are you, sweetie?" Castle yelled when he entered in the bedroom, his eyes taking a moment to adjust to the smoke, flames and golden glow around him. He was unable to see her.

"I undwe te bwed." Emily replied to the stranger. "I to afrawd to mowe. Tere was tis big ba-boom." She finished letting out a loud yelp when another piece of debris fell to the ground right in front of her face.

"Emily, crawl over to me. Come on, I am going to get both you and your mommy out of here, okay? But we need to hurry! Come on, Emily crawl to me, honey." Castle said as he knelt down on the side of the bed that wasn't blocked by debris.

"But my no know you, you bwad man?" Emily asked looking unsure and wary of this man who was a nobody to her. Her face resembling that of her mother. "My want momma."

"My name is Rick Castle and I'm your mommy's partner at work." He was apprehensive about explaining their relationship, unaware of how much Kate had already told Emily. "Your mommy trusts me, sweet girl, and I am going to save the both of you. If you come to me, I won't let anything bad happen to you ever again." He was taking a risk, making a promise to a small child. Especially, one who was not his and he had never met before.

"Momma trwst you?" Emily sobbed harder as another piece from the roof above them caved in, her small body flinching, yet her hand outstretching to him.

"Yeah baby, your mommy trusts me, and she is right in the other hall waiting for us. But we got to hurry!" Castle said extending out his arms to her, his large frame crawling on the ground to where she laid. So small, fragile and innocent. His chest constricting again as another wave of guilt washed over him, no child deserved to go through this. She was still a little unsure until another piece of wreckage fell next to her, her little body jumping up in fear and hitting her back against the wood of the baseboard. Her screams would forever be etched in his mind. She went crawling into his arms and he carried her protectively out of the bedroom.

"Where's Momma?" Emily asked, her voice cracking at the end of the question. She started sobbing in his arms while coughing and breathing very heavily. Castle repositioned her so her chest was against his chest, she laid her head down on his neck as her breathing got back under control. Another piece of rubble fell behind them, her little body tensed up and she bit back a yelp. _She is just like her mom, always having to be the strong one,_ Castle thought to himself.

"Okay, new plan. I am going to jump and duck over the big pieces of wood, and I need you to NOT move no matter what, okay?" Castle gently whispered into Emily's chestnut golden locks and felt her nod against him. "Oh, and Emily, I am so sorry if you somehow get hurt in all of this. I hope you someday find it in that sweet and innocent heart of yours to forgive me." Castle said looking her straight in her eyes, and felt his heart being ripped from his chest when she replied back, "tis gonna be o'tay Cassy." He chuckled at the mispronunciation of his name, a small smile gracing his lips while he sent a prayer and a vow to not let anything happen to her.

"Alright Emily, here we go." He said taking his first step over the piece of debris on the floor while ducking under a slanted one at the same time. Dipping under another piece that had a little burn to it he put both of his huge hands over her tiny head and let the burn irritate his skin and scrape his head against the wood. Biting back a yelp as to not startle the terrified little girl who was in his arms he settled for a hiss instead. He could just see the clearing, he could just see Kate's face, and he could see her gasping for air and trying so hard to stay awake for them. "KATE!" He yelled. "GO OUTSIDE INTO THE HALLWAY, WE'LL MEET YOU OUT THERE!" He was surprised when she obligated so easily, the reassurance from seeing her daughter reawakening her.

"Two more piece Em, just two more." He whispered to the mini Beckett in his arms who was an exact replica of her mother with those chestnut locks, hazel eyes that change depending on the seasons, perfectly tan skin, toned just right too, slim figure and muscular strength.

Taking the final duck and step through the entryway they were free from the hallway of doom. He walks over to the front door, walks on _top_ of the front door, and then out to find Kate leaning up against the hallway trying to stay with it, but the pain becoming too much for her to bare.

"We owt yet, Cassy? My see momma?" Emily asks, her eyes having closed earlier.

"Yeah baby, you can see me know." Kate answers reaching for her baby girl, yet he takes a step back. The confusion and hurt is evident across Kate's face.

"I know she is your daughter Kate, but at the moment you are in _no_ condition to hold her."

"Darn it, Castle! Give me my daughter, now!" She demands and he relents to letting her hug Emily with his hold still very strong on the girl.

"Okay, so we can't take the elevator and there is no way that I can carry the both of you unless…" Castle said as he took his eyes off of Kate and looked down at Emily who had repositioned herself to be looking at Kate and him at the same time.

"Hey Em, we are going to do things a little differently now, okay?" Castle said to her while he went to set her down.

"O'tay Cassy, bwt fiwe spweding vwery fat." Emily answered looking at all the flames, then back at the pair.

Castle squatted down to Emily's level and looked her straight in the eyes and said, "I am going to get you out of this Emily, I promise." Kate's heart swelled at what Castle just told her daughter, the care that was shining through his eyes to Emily was nearly too overwhelming for her.

"Pinka pwomise Cassy?" Emily asked him, and Castle hooked his pinky finger over hers. With her little finger hooked into his big one you would have never have known that she had her pinky in his.

"I pinky promise Emily," Castle answered debating if he should say what he was thinking right now. He took a risk and did, "I care about you and your mommy too much to let that to happen. I need the both of you to trust me, okay?" He asked them.

"I trust you Rick, I trust you with both mine and Emily's life." Kate answered for them while Emily nodded her head.

Putting an arm behind Kate's back, another under her legs Castle scooped her up and held her bridal style while she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked him in the eyes. His coat was jostled in the process and revealed more than it should. "Kate, my jacket is open." He said to her respectfully even as her gaze never wavered.

He didn't know until she started talking, "I know Castle, but I trust you which means that I trust that you won't take advantage of me." She said the last part in a whisper as to not let Emily here. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes for a second to mesmerize the moment in time that Katherine Houghton Beckett said that she trusted him. Twice. It was one thing for him to say it, but a complete other for her.

Feeling a little tug on his pants, he looked down to see Emily looking up at him. He squats down as he looked Emily in the eyes and studied to see how badly she was hurt. He came to the conclusion that she would be okay enough for what he had in mind. "Emily, you want a piggy back ride?" Castle asked her in an animated voice, his hopes to get her spirits back up.

"Yeah, Cassy!" She replied back with an enthusiastic nod of her head.

She walked around to his back and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck, her legs around his back the best she could with him holding Kate. The detective took one of her arms and slid them down his broad chest, across his sides and around to under one of Emily's legs. Then did the same with her other arm, putting it under Emily's opposite leg and hooked her hands together under Emily's small but so she would not slip. Trusting that Castle had Kate, and that Kate had Emily, and that Emily was holding on to Castle for dear life, Castle started walking out the door that lead to the staircase and down the stairs.

He had just cleared one level when they could hear the sirens in the distance

"The sirens are getting closer." Castle stated as he started walking again with two more floors to clear. With each step he took Emily would giggle at the bounce making the adults heart swell to see that the light was returning to her eyes. By time he had cleared the second floor he could hear Kate's whimpers of pain against him grow louder with each step. He looked down at her, seeing her trying to conceal the pain and keep smiling up at Emily. It would take a fool to not see the pain clearly written on her face. He slowed his steps down, one by one walking, not prancing to get away from the fire.

By time he had cleared the final flights of stairs and was watching Kate's face he could tell when it dawned on her that they weren't going at fast as they usually were. Looking up at Rick, Kate could tell that he had seen the pain on her face by the look of pure concern on his as he stares down at her. Using her upper body strength, she was able to lift her head up to his shoulder and rest it there, while she turned her head and placed her mouth right next to his ear, her breath warm, hot, comforting in this time of need against his ear. She whispered, "Don't worry about me Rick, just get us all out of here." It would be her next words that forced his feet to move quicker. "She has asthma and she has already been coughing and having hard time breathing."

 _Why did the first level always have to have the most stairs?_ He thought to themselves before looking back down at the gorgeous women in his arms, and saw the same question lingering in her eyes. They both had a look of concern on their face when they heard the little girl try to talk. "My thwoat and lungys huwting Cassy. My gewetine sleepy alto." She said, as she laid her head down on his shoulder.

"NO, EMILY, NO! You have to keep your eyes awake Emily, for me, please." Kate begged her, knowing that she could not let her daughter fall unconscious.

"Come on Emily only five more steps and then we are at the lobby, okay? Come on sweetie for mommy and me, please." Castle attempted to coax her, hoping that she would stay awake long enough.

"My trwing," she said to them.

"HEY! GUESS WHAT, EMILY?" Castle yelled, thinking that the louder his voice the more it would hold her attention and keep her awake. "We are in the lobby!" He pushed the door open with his side and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the firefighters and paramedics entering the lobby.

"Sowway Momma and Cassy, my can'te dwo it." Emily said as the crime-fighting duo shared a look of mix emotions."Gwoodknigty," Kate watched in horror as her baby girl closed her eyes and her breathing evened out. His steps faltered when he felt her breathing abruptly stop.

 **AN: How what that? Better than the original? Or no? In addition, I may not be able to meet my goal of finishing re-editing this story by this Sunday…. I apologize.**


	3. Ambulances plus The Meet and Greet

**AN: What can I say? Life…. I am genuinely sorry for not updating sooner, however, life just got in the way. Like always…. But thank you to everyone who is still reading, reviewing and following this adventure. It means a lot to me! Thanks!**

 **P.S.: This chapter contains both chapters three and four of the original IFTFFYEA.**

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 _Sowway Momma and Cassy, my can'te dwo it." Emily said as the crime-fighting duo shared a look of mix emotions."Gwoodknigty," Kate watched in horror as her baby girl closed her eyes and her breathing evened out. His steps faltered when he felt her breathing abruptly stop._

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He can't remember following the paramedic's orders, his own ears ringing as his body follows the commands. He lays Kate down on one of the gurneys, Emily on another right next to her. Paramedics rush over to Kate and Emily, and he sidesteps one of them so he can still hold on to Kate's hand until he gets pushed out of the way again by another medic. He has to control his anger and remind himself that they are here to help, that they are here for good reasons, their main concern being Emily though. He feels an intense pressure crushing his hand as Emily gets loaded into an ambulance.

"Stay with her Castle, please, for me. I trust you." She croaks out to him before their hands separate and she too gets loaded into an ambulance. He doesn't have to sprint far to get to the other ambulance, yet his heart still clenches at the thought of Kate by herself. Even if he is well aware that she can take care of herself. But she can't. His indestructible detective can barely lift her head up, and just the thought of that makes his head spin.

"I'm riding too," his voice is stern, strong, and if his face is anything to go buy, he is so not in the mood to be messed with right now. The paramedics share a look before nodding their heads in agreement. He takes hold of Emily's tiny hand in between the both of his, a silent prayer falling off of his parted lips when the vehicle finally begins to move. He doesn't consider himself religious but, he needs for them to pull through this.

"Uh, Sir?" The male paramedic asked, the female scolding him with her glare and he is oddly reminded of the looks that Kate used to give him. The male had shady blond hair, dark chocolate brown eyes, perfectly manicured nails, and neatly waxed eyebrows. Whereas, the female had plucked eyebrows, a puffed out bottom lip, with a tin top lip, brown hair with hints of red highlights in them, and an effortlessly slim nose. In any other circumstance, he would be using his ruggedly handsome features and charm to pick her up but, now was not the time nor was she the girl.

Realizing that he hadn't answer him, he turned back into the conversation and arched his right eyebrow. "We know that this must be a very hard time for you," Castle had to bite back a scuff at that part; they had no idea what the heck he was going through.

"But for legal reasons we need confirmation that you are her father." The female paramedic answered, looking him over with a small smirk and subtle wink. His thoughts were confirmed when the male paramedic rolled his eyes at her and puffed his chest in jealousy. _Partners,_ he thought, _in more ways than one._

Turning back to the male paramedic, whose name tag read John, he answered the question with as much clarification as he could. "I was the one who rescued her from that burning apartment, I'm the one who she will be staying with, I'm the one who loves her like she is my own. Do you need any more confirmation than that?" He finished with a glare before turning his attention away from the paramedics and back to Emily, God only knows that she would need his full, undivided attention for a while.

The female paramedic's phone rings and it doesn't take long for Castle to figure out that it is Kate's paramedics requesting an update on Emily. The conversation goes on for a few minutes before Janet, according to her nametag, hangs up with a curt goodbye and sharply turns to give him a glare. "Apparently, Detective Beckett started to threat bodily harm if she didn't get an update on Emily Beckett as soon as possible." Castle smirks in response, _'That's my girl!'_ he thinks to himself.

He is brought back from his thoughts when he hears an alarming sound coming from the other side of the vehicle. It takes his head a minute to register that Emily just flat-lined. _'But flat-lined means, her heart stopped beating.'_ He hears him tell himself when it all registers in his head, his heart dropping to his stomach and he has to swallow back bile to stop himself from throwing up. They get her out of the ambulance with his larger hand encasing one of hers as Kate is unloaded out of the other ambulance. Doctors rush to his detective's side, unknowingly obstruct his view of her and then, his focus is forced to change back to the chocking toddler. He releases the breath that he was holding, hopes that his unwanted air goes to the little girl. Everything is happening too fast for his brain to comprehend it.

All he can understand is that there is an older lady dressed in a nurse's attire with cartoons on it pushing him in the direction of the waiting room and forcing him to except reality. His breathing becomes erratic and even in his distraught state, he knows he is having a panic attack.

"Son, take a deep breath. Son, deep breaths. They are both going to be okay, your daughter and girlfriend are going to be okay. Just let the doctors do what they have to do, okay? Let her hand go Son, let her hand go." The little old lady tells him, drawing his attention to her petite height and calming smile, "Mary Ann" his eyes read from her nametag. And he lets go; against his better judgment, he lets go of Emily.

He turns around and there she is _his Kate_ she looks off, like something worse has changed in her. And maybe, just maybe, if he wasn't such in a trance before he might have heard what the nurse and doctors had said. It's not until _he knows_ for a fact that they took Emily away, does he jump up on the side of Kate's gurney and grabs her hand as they start wheeling her in. That's when he sees it, understands why she is on the verge of tears and is still crying for him and in pain.

He tries to calm her down, shush her, but he knows that its useless because the half-a-foot long piece of debris in her side has her distracted and sobbing. He hears her cries out in pain once more, and takes his prying gaze away from her side and up to her eyes. All he can hope for is that she is his last image before her eyes shut close and her breathing stops.

Letting her hand go and jumping off of the gurney he stumbles backwards, nearly losing his balance in the process before being caught on the arm and shoulder by Mary Ann.

He watched as doctors and nurses in scrubs wheeled the love of his life away into what he assumed to be an operation room, as they try to figure out how to save her.

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That was exactly five hours and thirty-three minutes ago, although he keeps telling himself that he is not keeping track of the time that passes by.

He had the nurses call everyone for him; unable to talk, let along speak the words himself. Lanie is sitting across from him; she keeps telling him that no news is good news but even in his deranged state, he can see the wariness in her eyes. Martha and Alexis are sitting on either side of him, Alexis holding on to him for dear-life and him holding on to Martha for dear-life. Javi has taking his spot harassing the nurses for information with Kev backing him up.

He keeps blaming himself for not figuring it out sooner, and for not getting them out faster, or not getting hurt instead. He would scarify his own life if it meant that Emily could live to her third birthday and that Kate could live to see Emily get bigger for just one more day. There's no doubt in his head that he would.

"Where's my daughter? Huh? Where's my granddaughter?" An older man styling his grey hair as bed head sprints in Castle's direction while yelling at passing nurses and doctors.

"Mr. Beckett, do you remember me and my partner? We work with your daughter, detectives Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan?" Javi ask the older gentleman and Castle watches as Kate's father, Emily's grandfather, is informed of the night's events with a blank face.

"Yes, of course I remember you two, and please we have already gone over this. call me Jim " Jim stated matter-of-factly.

Kev started talking to him as Javi lead the three of them in the direction of the others.

"How are they? Are they going to make it? What's been going on? The news said that the bomb went off almost five and a half hours ago." Jim gushed out all in one breath, _probably not good for someone his age,_ Castle thought to himself.

"Hello Jim, long time no see. We have yet to hear word on either of them, but when they came in Emily had just flat-lined in the ambulance and Kate had about a half-a-foot-long piece of debris in her side. Right as she went through the doors to the operation room, she began having trouble breathing. That's all that we know at the time." Lanie gave him a smile as she tried to hold back tears of her own and her wavering voice at the end. He nodded his head to her in acknowledgment before running his hands through his hair, even more so messing up the thinning hair.

"How did they get out of the building? No one ever did say." Jim asked, while everyone's gaze switched to Castle and back to Jim in a split second. "I am going to take it, that it has something to do with you, young man." Castle could practically fill the relief rolling off of Jim in waves.

Relief though? He didn't know why. Didn't he just save this elderly man's daughter and granddaughter _only_ after putting them in the initial danger? Shouldn't _he_ be the one angry and mourning what had happened, while Castle was upset and angry? Angry at the world for what had happened, angry at Scott Dunn for the bomb, and lastly, angry at himself for writing the books that had put Kate and her Daughter,her precious sweet little angel in the hospital.

"Yeah. You could say that it had something to do with me."

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 **AN: Once again, sorry for the really long pause in-between updates. Nonetheless, please review, follow and favorite both the story and my account! If anyone has any suggestions and/or ideas, please do not be afraid to Private Message me or leave them in the a review. Thanks!**


	4. Texas Hold 'Em

**AN: Rewriting and uploading this chapter took a lot longer than I expected…I apologize for the school year hiatus, so here is a filler chapter before I leave town for a week-long competition. I hope you enjoy!**

 **FYI: Some language, but minimum.**

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 _Relief though? He didn't know why. Didn't he just save this elderly man's daughter and granddaughter only after putting them in the initial danger? Shouldn't he be the one angry and mourning what had happened, while Castle was upset and angry? Angry at the world for what had happened, angry at Scott Dunn for the bomb, and lastly, angry at himself for writing the books that had put Kate and her daughter, her precious sweet little angel in the hospital._

 _"Yeah. You could say that it had something to do with me."_

* * *

"Why, good morning there, Sleeping Beauty! How was thee's nap?" Castle says in an English accent while he's walking over to the side of her bed. "Would you like to play another round of Texas's Hold 'Em? Of course, minus the fact that your mom is so going to kill me later for teaching you this game." Castle mumbles to himself as he sets-up the game and helped the little girl readjust to sit up straighter in her bed.

"Yeah, Cassy. Wlet's pway again." Emily says and Castle has the feeling that the three-year-old is all too happy to play yet another game of poker. "My had fwun last time."

"You had fun last time?" Castle asks with fake enthusiasm, trying not to look at all the bruises and scratches on the three-year-old's innocent body. Oh, Lord, how he feels _beyond_ responsible for what had happened last week.

Even after the brief and angst meeting with Kate's father, which consisted of a lot of guilt and remorse on Castle's part, the heaviness in his chest remains a burden that he doesn't think will ever go away. It was then that the doctor whom had operated on Emily had come and asked for Castle and Jim; stating that her injuries were minor compared to her mother.

Once all the smoke and dried blood had been washed off Emily's body, and the doctors could see the actual cuts and scratches on her body, she was determined to be in stable condition and removed from the ICU section of the children's ward. Even though, the doctor kept stressing to Jim and Castle that Emily was not out of the woods and that the recovery process would be long and tedious one.

Her back was the worse area of them all: she had an open wound that looked like she had been repeatedly whipped in the same spot, her arms and legs had scratches and bruises covered all over a them, and her chest was a lengthy story. The previous morning Castle had learned a valuable lesson, bruised ribs can make a little three-year-old angel scream at the top of her lungs when she first wakes up from a coma, but they can also trigger an asthma attack caused by a burning building filled with a lot of smoke.

To Castle, the best news of it was that nothing had been broken, either bruised, sprain or swollen.

"Cassy, Cassy, CASSY!" Emily screamed, jerking Castle from his darkening thoughts that were leading him down the rabbit hole. A place that he fought to visit after watching Kate's own turmoil with that special-type of Hell.

"Oh, yes sweetie, let's get back to the game. Shall we?" Castle asked. He set the stack down in front of her for her to cut into two halves and try to make as equal as possibly.

The sound of a glass door sliding open behind Castle made him turn around in his seat just in time to greet the elderly nurse.

"Hi Nuwse Cindy!" Emily greeted in a very giggle voice, one that Castle had quickly learned to become her 'I am so not peeking at the cards and cheating so I can have all the winning cards' voice.

Castle watched as Nurse Cindy looked from him to Emily and back again with a very disapproving look on her face. She shook her head trying not to laugh at the two trouble-makers sitting right in front of her; she was even chuckling as Castle and Emily pretended to act as if they did not just get caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"You do know that these are all glass windows, right Mr. Castle? And we can see everything that goes on in here." Nurse Cindy asked while she checked over Emily's vitals.

"As a matter of fact, yes I do. I did pay for this particular room for a reason, remember Nurse Cindy?" Castle stated. When Jim and Castle were first able to visit Emily, the room was located at the back of the children's ward and held two beds in it with the only form of privacy having been sliding curtains. It did not take long for Castle to write a large check to the hospital's charity foundation in exchange for Emily being moved to a private room where she could be easily monitored.

"Evewythingy?" Castle was forced to suppress his laughter when Emily's eyes widened and her voice hitched at the nurse's statement.

"Everything." Castle and Nurse Cindy said at the same time while smirking at each other, both trying even harder to not laugh at Emily's antics.

"You cwt dek tis time." Emily said looking down at her hands with a small pout on her bottom lip, a tell that Castle realized meant that she knew she had been caught.

"It's okay Emily; _everything_ is going to be _okay_." Castle said, putting emphasis on the subject and verbs, hopping that she caught the hidden message within his words. Much to his amusement, the look on the Mini-Beckett's face said everything that she couldn't in that one moment without having a full-blown meltdown for her mother again.

Like mother-like daughter, they both had a nervous breakdown when they had first woken up after arriving at the hospital. Once again, the weight in his chest returns at the thought of Kate; she had been placed in a medically induced coma only to be woken up and then involuntarily sedated. His detective had freaked out, demanding information on her daughter and when none could be offered to her at the time, she had lost it by screaming, hitting, attempting to pull out her IVs and crying for her baby-girl.

Nurse Cindy took this as her cue to leave with a smile and one last good-bye to each of them before wishing them good-luck on their "game." She also left with a promise of being back within the next couple of hours to check on Emily before lights out. The first night that Emily was admitted to the children's ward, the hospital staff had tried to make him leave at lights out; however, when Emily had started fighting and crying over being left alone, Castle had simply refused. He, once again, learned that a very generous check to the board of the hospital can easily persuade them to let him stay.

Suddenly, a wave of depression took over his body and ruggedly-handsome features as he looked over at the picture on Emily's night stand. Castle had taken it one night when the whole team had gotten together for a family dinner at his place; Kate was dancing with Emily in her arms and he captured the moment on his phone to have it forever.

Ryan and Esposito had found the picture buried in the wreckage of Kate and Emily's apartment and had given it to Castle when they came to visit. He had the picture reprinted out at the drug store multiple times and each in different picture frames, with words and designs decorating the frames in comforting and innocent colors. He placed it on the side of Emily's bed for the angel girl to admire it day-in and day-out

Kate had a copy on the night stand in her room too, for whenever _she finally_ woke-up.

Maybe someday soon, if not for Emily's sake, then at least for his lucidity.

He was tearing up on the inside knowing that in less than a week, he would be granted temporary custody of a three-year-old whom would be going home with him to his loft. Castle knew that his fatherly and parenting skills would always be with him, but he wasn't sure that he knew what to do in this scenario.

"Emily, you know that your Mommy loves you very much and that she is trying so hard to wake up and to come back home to you. Nevertheless, Mommy also has to rest up so she can get stronger and healthier." Castle stated as he gently grasped Emily's small chin in his large hand and forced her to look him in his eyes. At her nod and the sight of tears gathering in her eyes, he pulled her into a hug and whispered soothing words into her ear, attempting to keep her calm and her sanity intact.

But he was sure that his was already gone.

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 **AN: As normal, comments, suggestions and reviews are always welcomed!**


	5. Pep-Talks and Awakenings

**AN: Rewriting and uploading this chapter took a lot longer than I expected…I apologize for the wait but here is an actual chapter and not just a filler chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

 **FYI: Thank you to the guest who pointed out that this story is not consistent with who knew about Emily and who did not...my deepest apologies for that, it is hard for me to write and remember everything about the story after being on a break for such a long period of time. But I'll try harder!**

* * *

 _"Emily, you know that your Mommy loves you very much and that she is trying so hard to wake up and to come back home to you. Nevertheless, Mommy also has to rest up so she can get stronger and healthier." Castle stated as he gently grasped Emily's small chin in his large hand and forced her to look him in his eyes. At her nod and the sight of tears gathering in her eyes, he pulled her into a hug and whispered soothing words into her ear, attempting to keep her calm and her sanity intact._

 _But he was sure that his was already gone._

* * *

He holds her hand, listens to her steady sound of her heartbeat as it rises and falls. She's all he can think about, day and night, 24/7. She is still in a coma and the doctor's keep saying that she hasn't shown any sign of improvement, but to him she has because he just knows that she is getting better. He's held her hand, and talked to her, while giving her updates about Emily and during that time he has felt her hand twitch for half a second, and that's it.

He hasn't visually seen her hand twitch so the doctors keep politely telling him that he is going insane, losing his marbles to be exact, but he knows it has. Even though, it won't twitch for anyone else, not even if they talk about Emily to her, because none of them have the connection that they do. The connection that they have always had since the Alison Tisdal case.

He needs to stop thinking like that because he has less than 20 minutes until Emily wakes up from her nap, and if he keeps following those trains of thoughts then he will go back to Emily in a depressed mood. He swore to himself that he would only make the little princess smile and laugh, so he must be happy for her, excited even to play yet another game of Texas Hold 'Em.

Oh, God, love sucks, he thinks to himself as he lets a few tears fall while giving her a quick kiss good-bye on her temple. He whispers his words of love to her as he collects himself and heads for the door to her hospital room. A part of him doesn't want to leave, but he also knows that if he doesn't leave now Kate will surely kill him for herself when she wakes up.

So, he leaves the room of the love of his life and walks down the corridor to the elevator, reluctantly pressing the down button. He tells himself that only then when he is safely and securely alone in the elevator he will let a few tears disgracefully fall down his cheeks. And that he does.

He almost presses the button for the children's corridor, almost. Instead he presses the button for the lobby; he just needs a few minutes to himself. To gather his thoughts and to properly collect himself for nearly the fourth time in the last ten minutes. On a side note, Emily would probably enjoy and be delighted to have a pastry and cholate milk from the café.

He checks his watch to ensure that he still has ten minutes till Emily wakes up. That means he has five minutes to go down to the lobby and find the café to buy Emily's order and maybe something for himself, too. Then, he will walk the insane maze to her room and sit in his seat next to her bed until she wakes up and he can get officially distract himself by an intense game of poker.

The elevator finally arrived at the lobby; and he rushes out of the elevator, straight to the automatic doors that lead to the only bit of freedom that he has left. He's practically sprinting by time he makes it outside; he makes a right and runs around the corner of the building where he knows no one will be at, and only then will he fall to the ground on his knees and cry.

He hates himself for being so weak but it needs to be done, he needs to get it out of his system. He can't get it all out though, even on his hands and knees as he cries but he attempts to not scream he; he doesn't even yell at the world for all the pain that it has caused him in the past month. He did that the other not in secrecy, at his home on his bed and when he was just pleading for his girls to be okay. All of them.

But he must go inside, he must go back to Emily and hold her hand while they check her vitals o and clean her bandages one last time. He needs to be strong for her while the doctors and nurses fill out the paperwork for her release because today is the day that he gets to take her home. Today is the day that his mother and Alexis are adding the finishing touches on her makeshift-temporary bedroom. Even though, he would love for it to be her permanent bedroom and for her and her mom to move into the loft and for them to be a family.

But he needs to go back inside for that to happen and he needs for Kate to wake-up for the final part of his dream to come true. And that even includes Dunn off the streets, once and for all. The last one cannot happen right away, even with all the shutting stars that he has wished upon time and time again. Bu all that he can do right now is going back inside and pull it together for Emily. She will need him more now than ever before and he will need her too.

This will be a new beginning for them all and it should be one that they start together as a family; a real one and he is as sure as hell going to make that happen. He isn't as down as he was before; he feels a little lighter and a little bit more free. All because of Emily and on that note he reminds himself to thank Kate when she wakes up; to thank her for giving birth and for raising such a bright and wonderful little girl who is going to do good when she grows up one day, just like her. mommy.

Once he has finally calmed himself down, he walks back inside and goes through the motions of every task that he swore to himself he would do He even feels like whistling a little tune to himself while he's in the elevator, but from his episodes in the hospital room and outside, he still feels a little too emotionally drained. He softly smiles to himself when the elevator chimes a sweet melody to indicate that he has reached his destination.

He goes all the way around the corridors and follows the 'corn maze' as he likes to call it, all the way to the farthest and last set of corridors. It isn't hard to tell which room Emily is in as there are two police officers stationed outside her door since Dunn is still on the loose. He recognizes them from the precinct and thanks them they both step off to the side, in sync, with one going to the left while the other goes to the right in a manner to allow him to reach the door. He nods his head at them, and judging by the looks on their faces and their stares, he must look like hell, and he probably does.

He has his hand on the doorknob and goes to turn it right as a voice stops him, it's distant but it's there. He turns around and sees Emily's nurse come jogging down the corridor with a smile blossoming across her face. He pulls the door back already knowing by the look on her face that for once she is the bearer of good news and not bad news. There is just something about the way she smiles and the way the twinkle shines in both of her eyes, and then it dawns of him before she can stop gasping for air long enough to tell him.

Kate's awake.

His Kate is finally awake.

* * *

He's trying his hardest to not sprint down the hallways to Kate's room. He's already walking about six inches in front of the nurse and without even looking he can tell that she's smirking behind him. But at this exact point in time, Castle could care less because his Kate woke up, not just anybody's Kate, but his Kate.

Arriving on the floor that she is on only makes him feel a lot more anxious, nervous, and guilty about seeing her in the place that she is. He knows that he probably shouldn't feel guilty, at least not the moment because he's about to reach her door, but he can't help wondering what would have happened if he had just stayed for an extra ten more minutes. He's sure that that will be a question that he will continue to ask himself for the rest of his life. His sleeve is being tugged back and the force of it all finally makes him realize that someone is trying to pull him back.

Turning around he sees the look on the nurse's face; only then, does realizes that they arrived at her door but she won't let him in, why? He's about to open his mouth and ask when she holds a finger up to her lips, motioning for him to be quiet. She's telling him to be quiet, but why? Oh…Kate may have fallen back to sleep and she doesn't want him to wake her up.

He doesn't care about the waking her up part, he doesn't really. And it might make him sound selfish but it's the truth because he needs to see her before she does fall back to sleep. He may not be a doctor, but he's done enough research to know that there's no telling when she will wake up again. Nodding his head in understanding, Castle proceeds into the room on the ICU floor that just beyond the metal door holds his Kate waiting for him. He sneaks a look around the corner of the door after he opens it and his breath catches in his throat at what he sees. Her abnormal, pale skin color blends in so disgustingly well with the pearl white hospital sheets and the gown she is wearing. Little scratches, cuts, and marks are still evident on her face, and her arms that are above the sheets while everything else is hidden. Her eyelids are shut closed and she is completely still as if she sleeping. He is more than halfway tempted to shut the door and walk back outside to have a little come to Jesus meeting with the nurse for not finding him fast enough. He is quickly pulled out of his thoughts only once she speaks up which forces him to realize how long he has been standing in the doorway just staring at her.

"What have I told you about staring Castle? For the hundredth-thousand time, it's creepy!" Beckett says startling Castle as he continues to stare at her and a small smile spreads across her lips, while her eyelids slowly start to flutter open. Their eyes lock and faster than Castle thinks he has ever moved before he has the door shut to give them some privacy and he is sitting down in the chair. He was even moving too fast that he almost tripped over the chair, earning a soft chuckle out of her and taking it in stride as a victory for already making her laugh. Finally, he is right next to her grabbing for her hand and vowing to never let go of her for a split second again.

"How are you feeling?" He asks, genuinely curious of her state of wellbeing since she has woken up and he even goes through the basics of checking to make sure that she doesn't need any more ice cubes, or that she doesn't need any morphine, or the doctors or nurses. He knows that he is nervous, can tell by the way she is watching him with the most amused look on her face that she can currently muster in her physical-state. He keeps rambling on though going through the list of things that he can think of to ask her about when the mini version of the women in the bed dawns on him.

"Hey, you won't believe what I was just about to go do, guess what it was?" Castle says becoming more anxious while grabbing the hand that is closest to him as she watches him lace their fingers together and forming their own secret promise of always.

"What Rick, what were you about to go do that I couldn't belie-" She gets cut off by a violent coughing attack, one that has him jumping up about to grab the control panel that has the nurse call button but she grabs his wrist to stop him and is shaking her head 'no' at him so reluctantly just stands next to her as the attack slowly comes to an end.

"Trust me Castle, I think that if I keep bothering them over one of those attacks, they are going to seriously disable my call button, and I am not even joking this time." Beckett tries to joke once she finishes her coughing episode. He nods his head in understanding as he tries to wrap his head around the situation of what is currently going on and that includes Emily's health status and future living arrangements.

"Anyways Kate, what I was trying to say before is that Emily gets to come home from the hospital today, I was just on my way to go sign her discharge papers and go show Emily her new bedroom." Castle finishes while looking at Beckett with a 100-watt-smile on his face.

"Her new what, Castle?" Beckett asks with a confused, disoriented look on her face while she stares at Castle in a way that makes him feel like she isn't exactly staring at him, but through him. He squirms in his seat a little bit, trying to figure out how to respond to this question; with the new turn that everything had just took.

"Her new bedroom Kate, at the loft, Mother and Alexis called me right before you woke up from your little cocoon, and her bedroom is all set up. It's a surprise, I wouldn't tell her what I was going to do, but she's very excited to go see it today. Actually, she was so excited that I could barely get her to go to sleep last night." He answers, looking at her with an anxious look on his face because now he does not know if his plan will be able to go through.

Ignoring the remark, he made about her sleeping habits lately, she answers him with the first comment that comes to her brain and out of her mouth without thinking about it. "Rick? What the heck do you think you are doing? We need to talk, now."

And then his world shattered.

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 **AN:** **As normal, comments, suggestions and reviews are always welcomed!**


	6. Hope for the Sweet Little Princess

**AN: I know, I know, I know…it's been forever since I last updated but I am pleased to announce that this rewrite only has a few more chapters left until it is complete. I refuse to write anything new until this is complete!**

 **P.S: I have deleted some scenes that I felt were either over dramatic, out of character, or just blah.**

 **P.S.S.: To the guest who has been leaving messages on this story every single day (you and I both know who you are** **)** **…thank you! Your persistent badgering has forced me to start writing again!**

* * *

 _"Her new what, Castle?" Beckett asks with a confused, disoriented look on her face while she stares at Castle in a way that makes him feel like she isn't exactly staring at him, but through him. He squirms in his seat a little bit, trying to figure out how to respond to this question; with the new turn that everything had just took._

 _"Her new bedroom Kate, at the loft, Mother and Alexis called me right before you woke up from your little cocoon, and her bedroom is all set up. It's a surprise, I wouldn't tell her what I was going to do, but she's very excited to go see it today. Actually, she was so excited that I could barely get her to go to sleep last night." He answers, looking at her with an anxious look on his face because now he does not know if his plan will be able to go through._

 _Ignoring the remark, he made about her sleeping habits lately, she answers him with the first comment that comes to her brain and out of her mouth without thinking about it. "Rick? What the heck do you think you are doing? We need to talk, now."_

 _And then his world shattered._

* * *

"You were, _are,_ sick, and the hospital needed an answer for as to where Emily was going and your dad wanted to watch her but he has this gigantic case that the firm gave him and…and so I offered, and I…I figured you wouldn't mind since that way she doesn't have to stay another night here, and-" she abruptly cuts him off and puts an end to their conversation. One that should probably stop he thinks as he faintly hears the heart monitor going off in the background but before he can say anything she's talking again.

"Castle," Kate sighed, "I get why you did it and thank you for taking care of my daughter when I couldn't, but it's too much for you to do all of that for her." She held up her hand when he went to go object. "Even if I can't exactly take care of her now." Once she had finished she looked back up and saw the look on his face as his mouth opened ready to object. Of course he was she thought to herself as she turned slightly in her temporary bed.

"Beckett," Castle all but barked while his back straightened, shoulders squaring, and his jaw locking. "I do not think that it is too much to do something like this, even if Emily isn't mine nor if there is nobody else to take care of her. I _want_ to take care of her and you, if you will let me, and I want to help nurse the both of you back to health." He sees her go to shake her head in disagreement as her arms cross over her chest, her unconscious way of protecting both her and Emily. She snaps her gaze back up to his and begins violently coughing while she try's and fails to throw her body up. He runs over to her side and gently guides her into a sitting position while he gets her a glass of water. "Small sips, Kate, small sips."

"Emily…oh, God, what kind of mother am I?! I didn't even ask you if my baby girl was okay! Please tell me that she is safe Rick and that she isn't hurt. Please Rick tell me that my sweet princess is.…" She goes to say "alive" but her throat gets clogged up and the words get caught on a quiet sob, and when he doesn't answer her right away the tears that she had been holding in surface to the corner of her eyes. If anything were to happen to her daughter because of her, or because of her job, she would never be able to live with herself. He finally shakes his head to indicate negativity and she lets out a breath that didn't know she was holding.

"But she isn't exactly out of the woods and she won't be for a little while, Kate." She takes a shaky breath, runs her hands through her hair, and closes her eyes. "Kate, it isn't anything too serious. It's just somethings that we must be on the lookout for due to the smoke and debris. That's all." She opens her eyes to see him smiling down at her and she forces a grimace on to her face.

"Okay…so, what's wrong with her then?" She asks and feels his hand squeezing hers. She didn't even know that they were holding hands and now she's grateful for it, for the feeling of hope and faith that he gives her.

"It's not as bad as you think that it is, Beckett. She has some cuts and bruises, a couple broken ribs, her asthma was slightly affected from all of the smoke, and her back has open flesh wounds on them." Castle knew that no matter how gentle he explained it, it was still going to torture her if she didn't know the entire truth. He watched her reaction very carefully while she digested the information that was thrown at her.

"That's…." That's what? Beckett thought to herself…that's wonderful that she's alive? That's horrible because she is hurt? That's not fine at all because it is my fault?

"None of this is your fault, Kate, none of this. It isn't any more your fault then it is mine." Castle's voice was a mere whisper by the end of his sentence, and oh… _oh, God,_ Castle…. He's blaming himself for writing the Nikki Heat series even though it's not his fault. Because it isn't. It's Dunn's fault.

"Castle- Rick," she tries for his first name instead. "This is not your fault, okay?! Do you hear me? This is not your fault! She squeezes his hand harder than he did hers and sees a little bit of the light shine back into his eyes.

"Okay." He says as she repeats it back to him.

"Anyways, how are you?" She completely forgot to ask him how he was and yet here he is, worrying himself down to a thread about her and her daughter.

"I'm fine." At the eye roll that she gives him, he goes on. "I was worried sick about you and Emily, but I'm so much better now that you're awake. I promise Kate, okay?"

"Okay." They both take a moment to look at the other, letting them physically see and reassure themselves that they are okay and that it will all be okay. She breaks the silence first.

"If you really don't mind," she knows that she's blushing now, feels the heat on her cheeks and neck. "Then yes, Emily can stay at your place." She watches the smile that spreads across his face and let's a matching one appear on her face too. "Thanks, Castle."

"Always." She laughs at that and it's going to be okay…they are going to be okay.

* * *

"Mommy!" Emily shrieked when she walked into Kate's hospital room and tried to let go off Castle's hand.

"Wow Emily hold on for a second, okay?" Castle grabbed the girl from behind and swung her up into his arms as he held her closely to his chest, still mindful of the injuries to her ribs and back. "I know you want to see your Mommy and trust me I want to see her too," he said, while whispering the last part and looking over to Kate with a grin that caused her to blush as Emily giggled and continued to squirm in his arms. "But, Mommy has a lot of boo boo's too so we have to be careful, alright? We don't want Mommy getting hurt anymore then she already is, right?"

"Of cors' not, Caswel," Emily replied back while wiping at her eyes. "My no hurt, Mommy." Rick had not meant to make her cry, just simply be firm and warm with her however, when he saw the tears in her eyes he could not but help to kiss the crown of her head and rock her close to his chest while whispering sweet words of nothing to her.

"Jesus Castle! Just give me my baby girl already, please!" His head whipped up to where Kate was sitting up on the bed with her arms open motioning for him to bring Emily to her. He did so within a second. He gently set Emily down on the bed and then helped Kate to scoot Emily up into her arms while grasping the two-year old to her chest. She began to silently cry and rock the both of them side to side as her daughter wept out loud.

Castle looked on at mother and daughter and couldn't resist taking out his phone and capturing a quick picture of the scene going on in front of him. It was of a mother and daughter reconnected after an unbearable time apart, a special bond that could not be broken no matter what. He thought back to Alexis and the bond that she has with her mother, Castle wanted nothing more than for Alexis to have a chance to feel that special bond with a motherly figure in her life. If he was being honest with himself, then he wanted that special bond and motherly figure to be Kate. He wasn't about to deny that he had feelings for a certain brown-curly hair, and green-eyed detective, but to what extent did those feelings go to?

"Hey Castle, are you just going to stand there all day or pull up and take a seat? Or you can come join us on the bed?" Kate's voiced pierced through his thoughts but then his feet had taken over before his mind and he was walking forward to sit down on the bed next to the both of them.

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, guess wat Cassel taugt mew?!" Emily jumped up excitedly on the bed and turn to face her Mom as she was giggling and placing her hands over her mouth to try and stop herself. To this, Kate looked over at Castle while narrowing her eyes at him and responding to her daughter.

"What did Castle teach you, baby girl?" Kate asked, her gaze never once leaving Castle's.

"TEXAS HOWD DEM!" Emily all but shouted at the adults causing them to wince at the loud noise.

"Castle, you better pray to any God that is out there listening right now that my two-almost three-year old-did not just say that you taught her how to play Texas Hold 'Em." Kate seethed in the direction of her partner.

"What? All we had was a deck of cards, and let me inform you detective, it is not that easy to entertain a little kid with only a deck of cards." Castle replied back grinning at Beckett.

"What about gold fish, Castle? Or, I don't know, maybe old maid? Crazy 8's? A child friendly game?!" Kate retorted back within a second while trying to keep her "Beckett-look" steady, but failing miserably with Castle smiling at her like _that._

"Oh, come on Beckett. She would have learned eventually in her lifetime, why not start now?" He was aggravating her _again_ and doing all of his little Castle antics that drove her to insanity.

"Because maybe I wanted to be the one to play Texas Hold 'Em."

"Well, we could always play Strip Texas Hold 'Em if you really do want to play a game." Castle whispered while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively in her direction.

"CASTLE! My two year-old is right here." Kate whispered yelled and then rolled her eyes at his dirty mind. "You are such a child sometimes."

"It's one of the things that you like best about-"

"Mommy! My wanna plwy Texas Howd Dem. Can we plwy pleze?" Emily asked Kate, shifting in her mother arms so she was facing her as she placed her small, fragile hands (which Kate almost instantly noticed to have been all cut up and wrapped in bandages) on her mom's face. It was Castle who answered her first.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea; your Mom needs to rest and we have to get you out of here before the nurses realize that I snuck you out of your room before filling out your discharge papers." Castle whispered and placed a finger to his lips, acting in a gesture to show that it was a secret, causing for Emily to giggle and mimic Castle's actions. "Tell your mom goodbye and that you love her and that you will see her tomorrow morning bright and early." Castle stood up from the bed to give the two girls space to say their goodbyes.

"Bye momma, my lowve youl." Emily threw her little arms around Kate's neck and gave her a kiss on the cheek while Kate simultaneously did the same.

"Bye my baby girl. I love you, and I will see you tomorrow morning." Castle could see the tears gathering behind the detective's eyes. But before Kate could register what was happening Castle was walking over and scooping Emily up into his arms, kissing her forehead and whispering something that made her laugh into her ear.

Kate would be lying if she denied that she was worried about her _only_ pride and joy staying with somebody else and their family, even if it was _Richard Castle_. She mostly didn't like the fact that she was away from Emily when she should be with her, holding her, comforting her, and _oh God_ , what if Emily's has nightmares about this and Kate's not there for her? However, as if sensing what she was thinking, Castle walked back to his partner's side and lent down during a moment of confidence and gave her a kiss on the side of her temple while leaning down so his mouth was right next to her ear.

Kate could feel his breath right next to her ear so close to mingling with her own if he would just move a few centimeters down further….

"Kate, I am not going to let anything happen to Emily. I know that she may not be my daughter, but I care for her as if she was my own and look how Alexis has turned out. Plus, I will have Alexis and Mother at the loft with me constantly and we will be right back here in the morning, I promise. I promise you, Kate, nothing will happen to your baby girl. Always." With that, Castle looked into her eyes one more time and gave her his signature Richard Castle smile before turning on his heel and walking out of her hospital room.

A few minutes later after Castle and Emily had left Beckett laid on her, surprisingly not uncomfortable, hospital bed letting her mind rethink and over-analyze all that Castle had just said and shown through his actions and words.

" _I care for her as if she was my own."_

"… _gave her a kiss on the side of her temple while leaning down so his mouth was right next to her ear."_

These were the words and actions that she was still trying to wrap her mind around. She ran a hand through her hair trying to calm her racing mind down and her rapid breathing. She can still smell his distinct Castle smell, a wonderful mix of his cologne, coffee, and something else that she still could not put her finger on after- _almost_ -two years of working with him.

Almost two years of working with Castle, her partner, coffee buyer, and best friend. Kate thinks that maybe she should do something for their two-year partner anniversary, but what do you buy the man who is rich enough to buy it for himself? Plus, she should really get him a thank-you gift for his hospitality of letting Emily stay with him and for caring for her own daughter when she could not herself. It would have to be something that her daughter would agree with and could help with…. She is just about screams "GOT IT!" when there is a knock at her door and her nurse walks in.

"Hey there Detective Beckett, how are you feeling right now?" Nurse Julia asks as she walks over to Kate's bedside and messing with the monitors.

"I'm fine." Kate replies back shortly and looks away from the nurse; she has never been one to like doctors and nurses.

"You know, it's too bad that your boyfriend and daughter left already, we just got some test results back and the doctor should be in any second now to talk to you about them."

"What do you mean 'test results back'? I thought that you guys already did all of the testing that needed to be done and I came back fine, besides just some soreness and smoke that got into my lungs." Kate does not even bothering correcting when the nurse calls Castle her boyfriend. At this moment, she is more concerned with the "test results" that have suddenly come back.

"Well, we did for all of the basic testing however, for the more extensive testing we received the test results about five minutes ago and Doctor Parsely said for me to come in here to take your vitals." Nurse Julia explains while she grabs the chart located at the end of Kate's bed and begins to write something on it. Kate goes to speak more but is quickly interrupted by the sound of her hospital door opening.

"Detective Beckett, how are you doing on this fine evening?" Doctor Parsely walked further into the room and Kate sized him up just as her training had taught her too. He looked the same from when they had spoken earlier in the morning, _with Castle_ , and he had said that she was fine and that her _all_ of her test came back fine. The only thing that was wrong with her was the soreness throughout her body and the small amount of trouble breathing because of the smoke from her burning apartment.

 _Shit!_ Her burning apartment, where were she and Emily supposed to live now? They could always crash at her dad's place, she knows that he wouldn't mind. But on a cop's salary, even if she was a first-grade detective, it would take her a year worth's of her salary in order to buy an apartment for the two of them.

* * *

Opening up the door to the loft, Castle could only hope that Emily would like her bedroom and that his mother and Alexis had finished shopping for clothes for both the two-year-old and her mother. His hopes were confirmed when he heard his daughter's light footsteps come bounding down the stairs to meet him at the threshold. He set Emily down and watched out of the corner of his right eye as the little girl spun in circles around his living room in complete awe of the grand and spacious loft. As he let go of Alexis, Castle realized that Emily had probably only ever seen Jim and Kate's apartments and understood why the little girl was acting like she had just been given a magical pony for Christmas. He was brought out his train of thoughts by the sound of a quiet, precious laughter floating through the open living area.

"Hey, Emily," Castle watches as Alexis walks over to the couch where Emily was currently trying to pull herself up on to. "Do you want to see something really, really cool?" Alexis's question was quickly answered by a vigorous nod of Emily's head as she lifted her arms up for Alexis to carry her to this "something really, really cool." He follows closely behind the both of them as they walk up the stairs together with Emily closely secured on his daughter's hip. The thought dawns on him for a second that if Alexis was given the opportunity she would be a great big sister.

"-And this is where my bedroom is, right across from Gram's bedroom. But Emily, do you know whose bedroom this is?" Castle is pulled out of his thoughts by Alexis easily setting Emily down on the ground in front of what he assumes to be her new "temporary" bedroom.

"Uh, uh." Emily replies and shakes her head while grasping on to his daughter's hand and swinging it in between them.

"Well, Little One," it's Castle who is speaking this time before he even realizes it and crouching down in between Alexis and Emily's swinging arms. "It's your new bedroom." He pauses before his next words when he hears her gasp and looks to see a smile slowly spread across her entire face. "Do you want to see it, Emily?" He whispers the last part.

The thought quickly dawns on Castle as to where his mother is, but it leaves his mind just as fast when he watches Alexis turn the doorknob, and Emily pull Alexis into the room with her as she begins to twirl around, yet again, as she tries to absorb the entire bedroom all at once. He really should give his mother and daughter more props on their last-minute abilities to pull anything off.

The room is simple, but extravagant in every Castle fashion. The walls are completely painted pink with every single princess that he could think of painted on all the walls in a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree circle. There is also a princess wall paper at the top and bottom of the walls that says, "Once upon a dream" in blue, cursive writing. The first piece of furniture that Castle sees is a pink toddler bed with princess bedding on it and a brown. There is a brown wooden rocking chair in the opposite corner, as well as matching dressers, closets, and nightstands. He takes note of the mini flat screen television hanging on the wall above a DVD player facing the bed and rocking chair. Lastly, Castle sees a toy chest up against the wall directly across from him, under the windowsill, filled with toys and books as Alexis slowly opens it up to show Emily and sits on the soft blue carpet to play with her.

Castle takes that chance to go through the dressers, closets, and nightstands to see how much his girls really did spend on the bedroom for Emily, although, no amount is too big for him when it comes to any of his Beckett girls. He founds them all to be filled with all the essential clothing, footwear, etc. His thinking then wanders back to where his mother is, and as if being the Jedi Mastermind that he taught her to be, Alexis answers his question. "Gram went out to go buy Detective Beckett some more clothing and whatever else she found, and I quote, 'necessary for a girl to have in her life.'" This caused for Alexis to chuckle slightly and for Castle to shake his head and grimace on how much more money that would be causing him. However, price did not truly matter to him when it came to any of his girls.

Suddenly, Castle felt a tiny pair of arms wrap around his legs just as a matching little body slammed into his own. "Thwank ywou, Caswell." He simply looked down and smiled at Emily, who then repeated her actions but to Alexis this time.

Castle walked back over to the doorway to give the girls some bonding time with one and another as he went to go freshen up in his own bedroom yet, when he turned around to inform them of his departure, he could not help himself but take out his phone and capture a picture of the moment that he was witnessing before him. A moment that he could only pray would be occurring much more in the future, he just had to finish convincing a certain detective the same thing and then eventually ask her out to dinner one night. Soon.

Castle turned and as he was walking down the stairs grabbed his cell phone again out of his coat pocket and sent the picture to the detective who was putting a Cheshire cate size smile on his face. No caption, no emoji's, no comments, nothing, just simply the picture.

" _A picture speaks a thousand words."_

* * *

 **AN: Please comment, like, and follow!**


	7. Remy's Dates

_Castle turned and as he was walking down the stairs grabbed his cell phone again out of his coat pocket and sent the picture to the detective who was putting a Cheshire cate size smile on his face. No caption, no emoji's, no comments, nothing, just simply the picture._

" _A picture speaks a thousand words."_

* * *

He stands in the lobby of the hospital waiting for her to come out of the restroom so he can take her home. He helped her change out of the gown that she had had draped over her thin frame for the past month, and then they both eagerly waited for the doctors instructions while filling out her discharge papers.

She walks up to him and he offers her his hand with a smile on his face, their relationship having progressed farther than either one of them thought possible within the span of a month. She takes it of course. He's caring a bag with her paperwork and clothes in his left hand and her small hand gently in his right when they walk out of the hospital doors to his personal car. She had asked him to bring it so they could just be alone.

Castle places the bag in the backseat after opening the passenger door for her and before running around the back of his black SUV and jumping in the driver's seat. He puts the car in drive, reaching over to intertwine their fingers together with their palm's kissing. She breaks the silence first.

"How was Emily this morning?" She's watching him and he has to resist the urge to look over and just gaze at his beautiful girlfriend, the mindset that if he looks away they will crash being the only thing that keeps him from smiling at her.

"Perfect. She had a couple of waffles for breakfast and Alexis chopped up a bunch of fruit that she and Emily bought together yesterday at the market." He steals a kiss from the back of her hand when they pull up to a red light.

"That's good. Oh, God, Castle, I miss her so much." Beckett's head falls back against the headrest and she squeezes his hand in response to his kiss. He squeezes her hand back.

"I know. She missed you too, actually, we all did."

It does not surprise Castle that Beckett insist on getting out of the car and walking up to the loft all by herself. Yet, he finds himself yearning to touch her, hold her hand, as they stand side by side in the elevator in the comfortable silence with a buzz of nervous energy surrounding them. He grins at her when she leans her head on his shoulder and closes her eyes for the few seconds left of the ride.

She is still clasping his hand in hers when she tugs him out of the elevator after her and heads towards his loft door, walking there with a confidence that takes him by surprise but has him grinning nonetheless. They arrive at his door together and he inserts the key into the lock as quick as possible knowing that she won't be able to hold out much longer and he can already hear the little footsteps running towards the front door. The scream of her name has him wincing as a smile stretches across his face, smaller than the one that she cloaks her face in.

"Mommy!" Her daughter's body crashes with her legs as she bends down and picks the child up into her own arms ignoring the look of concern sketched so clearly in Castle's eyes when she has to bite her lip to try and not groan in pain. She merely just turns in circles around his spacious living room carefully running her hand down the now _sobbing_ toddler's back.

"Shh, baby shh. Mommy's home, it is okay, Mommy's right here." Castle tried to ignore the fact that she referred to the fact that his loft was her home, telling himself she is trying to calm Emily down. He walks pass them heading towards his home office where he sets her bag down and proceeds to the bedroom walking straight through to the bathroom in order to buy the girls more time alone.

Beckett watches as he finally emerges into the living room and she smiles up at him from her place on his extremely comfy couch as she rocks a now sleeping Emily in her arms. She nearly jumps out of her skin at the sound of his voice. "You know, I can take her form you if you would like? Maybe go put her upstairs in her bed or something?"

"No," she says and it comes out on a breath of a sigh. "She's fine, and plus. I think I would like to hold her for a little bit anyways."

"Of course." He gives her a smile before walking past her into the kitchen. "Can I get you anything to eat, or drink, maybe?"

"Not right now, rick. I just want to sit here with Emily and you. By the way, where are Martha and Alexis?" She asks, worrying now falling upon her at the newfound idea of her baby girl being left home alone, no matter how many times she keeps telling herself that in no way would the two women have done that to her daughter.

"Don't worry," he says, as if reading her mind. "Mother and Alexis went upstairs to give the two of you some privacy when we got home. It was right after you picked up Emily, you were probably just too focused on her and did not see them. That's all." He finishes off by bringing her a glass of water with some painkiller and sets them down in her hands waiting for her to swallow before taking the cup from her and setting it down on the coffee table in front of her. His own glass being set down right beside hers before he takes a seat on the couch next to her, his left arm wrapping around her shoulders, his thigh brushing hers, and his lips coming to connect with her right temple. She can feel his grin as she melts into his half-embrace, her own completing his half.

"How are you feeling?" He asks.

"I'm fine." She responds and judging by the look on his face she's quick to change her answer. "Honestly?" His simple nod is her encouragement to continue on. Plus, they had promised each other just a couple of weeks ago when their relationship had begun that they would try to be more trusting with each other. "My head is pounding, my ribs are killing me, and I'm having trouble breathing but am not moving my baby for nothing. I would rather be in pain then miss out on this moment right here, right now, with the _both of you_." Their eyes lock on the last few words of her sentence and he has to bite his tongue to hold back the gasp that is stuck in his throat and is causing him to choke up. "Come here."

She speaks those words on her own accord as her hand reaches over to cup his palm and pull him in for a quick, but intimate, kiss that leaves the both of them smiling like teenagers having their first kiss. Ironic, he thinks to himself, because that is exactly how it feels. She pulls her hand back, still smiling at him, and call him selfish but he does not want the moment to end so soon, and so, he cups the back of her neck and repeats her actions with his hand on her check as she leans into his touch and he bends down to capture her lips for a longer, slower kiss.

They both break apart at the sound of footsteps arriving at the top of the stairs and gradually descending to which he lets go of her and looks up to see both his mother and daughter walking towards them.

"Katherine! Oh, dear, how are you doing? I can only imagine how relieved you are to be home." His mother embraces his girlfriend in both a gently and strong hug while running her hands along Emily's back.

"I'm doing better, Martha, thank you for asking." Kate answers while trying her hardest to return the warm gesture one-handed.

"I see the little one is out, huh? She was all hyped up and thrilled this morning that you were finally coming home! Well, to be truthful, I think that we are all happy to have you back with us."

"Yes, Martha. It is so good to be back with my daughter again, and all of you. Also, I want to thank each of you personally for being so accepting to Emily and me staying in your home." Kate said while looking each of the Castle's in the eyes, locking their gaze to show her gratefulness.

"Kate, I wouldn't have it any other way, you should know that by now." Castle responding rubbing his hand over her shoulder and pulling her closer to him as his right hand went to shift Emily's weight half way off of Kate and on to him.

"Of course, Katherine, like Richard said, we wouldn't have it any other way." Marth said while simultaneously throwing her hands up in the air in a classic Martha flare.

"Detective Beckett, it truly is out pleasure to help the both of you out. Plus, I'm enjoying having Emily around a lot." Alexis said while sitting down next to her dad on the arm of the couch.

"Alexis, first, please call me Kate, and second, I want to thank you personally because from what I hear Emily wouldn't have a room, wardrobe, and toys to play with here like she does. Most teenage girls would be out in their free time partying with their friends, but you volunteered your time to caring for a two year-old, and for that, thank you!" Kate looked at Alexis with a sincerity that almost had everyone in the room in tears.

"Of course, Kate."

"Well, Alexis why don't you and I go get started on an early dinner and leave your farther and Katherine to just be alone together." Martha suggested while standing up from the chair that she was seated in across from the couple and toddler. The couple looked on as the their favorite two red-heads left in search of something to make for supper.

* * *

It isn't until they are getting ready for bed later that evening that she notices it. The small plastic box wrapped in black wrapping paper with blue going across it, accompanied with a bow on top. The package wouldn't necessarily catch her attention except it is on the nightstand that Castle proclaimed to be hers along with the side of the bed and as she is walking over to inspect the suscpicous container her mind floats to where he currently is. The bathroom, she thinks to herself and remembers that he was going to go freshen up for bed while she was putting lotion on her legs.

The gift has a nametag on the top, situated just under the bow, and it reads a name that she is all too familiar with, hers. And she does not even need to ask who it is from because she is pretty sure she already knows who.

So she picks up the box very cautiously and cannot help the urge to just slightly shake the container to which she is met with complete silence, and sets it back down. She vaguely remembers the sound of the faucet turning off and his footsteps becoming heavier with each fall as he nears the door connecting both the bedroom and his en suite.

She reacts merely out of curiosity and instincts when she rips open the lid to the present and she can automatically feel her breath catch in her throat as she has to close her mouth to prevent some ungodly sound from escaping within her without given permission because of the contents. The contents that has tears forming in her eyes and she should have known that he would have done something like this to try and show her just how much he cares about her.

Because it is her father's watch, repaired and in mint condition, which she thought, she had lost when her apartment was blown up.

His presence is not detected by her until he is standing right behind her, she tries to recall the sound of the doorknob being turned, but cannot conjuring up any memory in her mind.

"I found it amongst the wreckage and knew that I couldn't give it back to you all broken and chipped, so I got it repaired for you." His voice sends her heart racing more than it was beforehand, having tripled when he wraps his arms around her waist and to the front of her torso, giving her just a slight squeeze as he turns his head and kisses her temple.

Suddenly, she pushes out of his embrace to give her enough space to turn in his arms and kiss him. Her hands are on his cheeks dragging him down for a kiss that reaches a whole new level of intimacy, one that they have not quite reached in their relationship yet. But neither one of them pull back till the need for air becomes dominant for her, since her ribs are still in poor condition. They lean their foreheads on to each other's while smiling to one and another, their actions speaking more than they are physically capable to at the moment. However, she breaks the silence first, equally surprising the both of them.

"It's perfect, thank you." She begins.

"Always." He finishes.

* * *

She wakes up the next morning to a heavy weight on top of her hip, his scent soon following afterwards, and so she smiles as she snuggles closer to his side of the bed. A laugh falls from her lips without her permission when she hears him sigh in contentment, wrap his arm tighter around her, and place a chaste kiss to her temple as he pretends to keep sleeping.

"I know that you're awake, Castle. Why don't you stop pretending to be asleep and kiss me good morning the proper way?" Kate says while turning in Castle's arms until her nose is lightly pressing against his. She lets him have his moment of thinking that he has her as she watches him, the way that he is trying to control his breathing, the flock of hair that is normally so precisely held up by his gel, and the slight twitch of his nose every time that he exhales.

"Oh, yeah? And all that I have to do is just open my eyes and stare into your beautiful, forest green ones?" Castle replies while dramatically peeking one eye open.

"Are you a writer or something, Castle?" She fires right back at him, the hint of a smile beginning to tease her lips.

"Eh, I do alright?" He says with a hint of a smile teasing his own lips, however, before she can roll her eyes in old Beckett-fashion like he knows she is going to do, he dips his own lips down and catches hers in a sweet kiss. He feels her kiss him back and pull him closer with a hand on the nape of his nick and another resting on his cheek as his own hands rest on her hips. He is the first one to pull away, laughing at the groan that he pulls from her lips.

"You know, as wonderful as it would be to stay in bed with you all day and continue where we left off, I have a pretty good feeling that you would like to spend the day with your daughter too." Kate has to resist the urge to stare at Castle's lips while he talks to her, only looking away at the end when she hears the sounds of someone opening the bedroom door to reveal the youngest Castle carrying the youngest Beckett on her back.

"Okay, Emily, you can open your eyes now. The coast is all clear." Alexis watched as the two adults in the room begin to blush deeply. "Hey, I'm not judging anyone! The both of you are consenting adults and the two of us over here are living proof that you guys are somewhat experts at it and-"

"OKAY, ALEXIS! I think we all understand what you are trying to say, but for the record, no, nothing happened last night." Castle quickly interrupted his daughter and patted the bed gesturing for the two girls to climb on to it while Kate pulled herself up leaning her head on his shoulder and holding out her arms for her baby. Alexis passed Emily to Kate and waited till the toddler was secured in her mom's arms before climbing on to the other side of the bed and resting her head on her dad's other shoulder. Castle wrapped both of his arms around each of his girls and leaned back against the headrest as Kate placed Emily in the middle of them.

"Hey little one, how are you today?" Kate cooed her daughter, running her hands up and down Emily's back as she nestled into both her and her boyfriend's sides.

"M'kay, Mommy." Emily said smiling up at her mom as her eyes grew heavy and her breathing evened out rapidly.

"Tired, baby?" Kate asked while her running hands continued to stroke Emily's back in a soothing manner. The nod she received from the toddler being the only answer that she was given before the child's body stilled completely.

He looked over at his daughter and placed a kiss onto the teenager's forehead and then repeated the action on to the toddler's forehead before smiling at his girlfriend. One gaze into her eyes and he knew that they were thinking the same thought; they looked just like a family. The idea should scare her, she knows that, it should make her want to go far away and lock both her and her daughter in her apartment and build a wall around their hearts. She has never introduced Emily to anyone before, to afraid that her daughter would get attached to them and then they would turn around and dump her because they were not ready to be a parent, and yet, her daughter was already breathing the same air as both her boyfriend and his daughter. But the thing that shocked herself the most was that she loves it.

She loves sleeping in Castle's bed with him, waking up to his kisses, both of their kids in the doorway waiting for snuggles, and acting as if they were a family by blood and marriage.

"Just because we aren't married or that your daughter isn't mind by blood, and vice versa, doesn't mean that we can't be a family." Castle's mouth appears at her skull as he whispers her mind into her own ear and she can feel the smile that spreads across his lips against her head. She lifts her head from his shoulder and tilts it up to look into his eyes, smiling back at her boyfriend and leaning into his lips just slightly as he ducks his head down to meet hers. They break apart slowly a few seconds later with an unspoken agreement that they would never make-out or take it too far in front of their kids, as to not scar them permanently.

"Awe!" Alexis's voice caused both adults to turn their heads towards the teen, Kate's head hiding in the crook of Castle's neck as he smiled at his daughter, finally happy to have found someone that Alexis could have as a role model in her life. "But, as cute as you two are, it's already lunch time and I am STARVING!"

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I haven't had a burger, fries, and a milkshake from Remy's in _forever_!" Kate said as she began to arise from the king sized bed with Emily still sound asleep and nestled in her mother's arms.

"Sounds good to me." Castle replied, a smile still spread across his face.

"Sounds perfect to me, I'll go get dressed." Alexis said already out of the room and running up the stairs to her bedroom, leaving the adults laughing hysterically at the teen's actions.

"You would think that I starve her or something." Castle gasped trying to regain his breath as he began to get dressed. "I'll take Emily up the stairs and get her dressed for you; we both know that you won't be able to get up those stairs without any pain."

"Yeah, I know." Kate sighed pressing a kiss to her daughter's forehead before passing her along to Castle.

"I'd offer to help you get dressed but we both know that you have too much determination and pride to let anyone help you."

"I'll be fine, go get her dressed, I'm famished!"

"Alright," Castle said giving his girlfriend a chaste kiss before leaving the room.

* * *

They arrived at Remy's about an hour later and sat themselves in a booth next to the outside window with Emily and Alexis sitting opposite of each other on the window seat and their parents sat next to them on the outside. The restaurant was just beginning to buzz to life with business and employees going on their lunch breaks and eager to get a quick bite.

"So, what are we getting my lovely girls?" Castle asked as the waitress placed menus in front of each of them.

"I think I'm going to get a burger with fries and a strawberry milkshake." Kate said without even looking at the menu in front of her.

"Oh, me too, Kate. That sounds delicious." Alexis said smiling at her father's girlfriend.

"Me too!" Emily piped up from her place next to Kate slowly crawling on to her knees so she could see above the table.

"But a kids one." Kate clarified for their waitress while running her hands through her daughters hair.

"You know what; I believe that I will get a burger with fries and a _chocolate_ milkshake." Castle said, gathering the menus up and handing them back to the waitress.

"Alright my darlings," the waitress, Ann Marie, began. "I will go place your orders, and grab the little missy over here and booster seat and some crayons with a coloring page. Now, does that sound good little missy?" The elder woman spoke with an accent from the Bronx and a gentle smile on her face that made everyone at the table feel at ease and strangely comforted with their waitress.

"YES, PLEASE!" Emily all but shouted and was quickly hushed by her mother who only meant it half-heartedly while chuckling along with everyone else.

"Thank you, ma'am." Castle turned to Ann Marie and said with a grateful smile on his face which was quickly mirrored by all occupants of the table.

Not long after, Ann Marie returned with all that she said she would and Kate scooted out of her seat as to let Castle help Emily get situated. It frustrated her; they all knew that, she was an independent, single Mom who couldn't even help her daughter into a booster seat because of her injuries. She felt Castle press a kiss to her forehead, whisper soothing words and promises against her temple as he held her for a minute and her body soaked in the strength that he provided. However, their simple moment was interrupted by a different waitress bring their food to the table.

"Wow! That was really fast." Alexis said while grabbing the ketchup and squirting herself a generous amount before passing it along to her dad.

"Don't complain Alexis. I haven't had one of these in what feels like forever!" Kate said as she stuffed her mouth with her burger and then taking a sip from her milkshake. Not a hint of shame spreading across her face when the rest of the table laughed at her as she moaned at the taste of her food and drink.

"Caswle, helwp pwease?" Emily asked while pointing to her food.

"Of course, my precious little angel." He answered smiling and winking at the little girl who giggled at the nickname. Then nodded his thanks to the teenager when she passed the toddler's food to her father for him to cut and pour a reasonably amount of ketchup on to the child's plate.

"Thank you, Rick." He heard his girlfriend say and paused for half a second, his first name taking him by surprise, knowing that she reserved that for only special occasions.

"Always, Kate." Castle replied offering her a genuine smile as he began to dig into his fries. He only looked up again when he could hear the slurping of a milkshake and stared in shock at her as she had finished all of her burger and fries with only a few sips of her milkshake left. "Woah, hey, babe, you may want to slow down. You just began eating real foods again and you don't want to upset her stomach or make yourself sick."

"Yeah, Kate, I think I'd have to agree with Dad on this one. We haven't even had our food for ten minutes." Alexis spoke up, a look of concern plastered across her face towards the detective.

"It's okay, guys. I feel fine, but I guess I didn't realize how hungry I was until I started eating my food. I need another milkshake though." Kate said with a sparkle of joy in her eyes at the idea of another milkshake.

"How about some water, Kate? Your still getting back to being fully healthy, and I just don't want to see you get sick or hurt again." Guilt immediately struck him in his heart as he watch the expression on her face slowly begin to drop, only for a second though, as to keep up a façade for their kids.

"Your right, Castle. I need to take it easy." Kate said with a fake smile plastered across her face. He played along with the dance that they knew so well.

"I'm sorry, what was that detective? I'm right? I think I need to get that in writing or recorded if you don't mind." Castle pretended to gasp and feel his pockets for a note pad of pen, even though they all knew that it was in his left, front coat pocket.

"Oh, I don't know, Castle. Why should I put that in writing or on a recording to let your ego feed off of for a while." She could play this game, for the sake of their kids, and she could even do it with a teasing smile and a glint in her eyes. Both of them turning their heads to their respective kids when the two of them started to laugh hysterically, most of their food gone with some of Emily's across her mouth causing Kate to chuckle.

"Come here, baby. Let me wipe your face for you, okay?" Kate grabbed a clean napkin from the stack at the end of the table and turned to wipe her daughter's mouth. The two Castle's not missing the slight grimace on the detective's face at having to twist her body sideways. Turning back around Kate caught the look of concern in Castle's eyes as he stared at her.

"I think we are all done here, why don't you take the girls and go get in the SUV while I go pay up front for our meal." Castle said moving out of his seat to let Alexis slide out. He turned back around when he recognized the slender fingers wrapping around his wrist to pull it out of his back pants pocket.

"Rick, let me pay for our half of it." His girlfriend said once she stood up and was standing next to him. "We had an agreement, remember?"

"How could I forget?" He asked as both of their minds drifted back to the night in her hospital room the evening before she was discharged when he was finally able to convince her to stay at his place. "And I'm not breaking our agreement; I just want to be able to buy my girls lunch to celebrate my gorgeous girlfriend being able to come home, okay?" He finished with a finger under her jaw and a kiss to her lips. "Now, go get in the SUV and I'll be there in a few minutes I promise."

"Fine. Come on girls; let's go get in the truck." Kate turned back around to see Alexis already carrying Emily on her hip towards the restaurants front doors.

"You better go catch up." Her boyfriend spoke up as he placed a gentle hand to the small of her back, pushing her in the direction of the entrance and exit to the building. "Here, take the keys and go get the car running." He took out the keys from his front pocket and placed them in her hand.

"I will, but don't take too long. I'm starting to get tired." She whispered her reply before beginning to walk towards the doors.

"I won't, and I know, Kate. I can tell," he called after her with a knowing look on his face. He took a moment and relinquished in the sound of his girlfriend's laughter and watched as she shook her head before tossing him a gentle smile as she walked out of the restaurant.

By time he got in the car with his seat belt on, it took him a total of four minutes.

"See, I told you that it wouldn't take me too long." He said with a cocky grin on his face as he checked to make sure that everyone was buckled up properly. "Now, let's go back home and just relax for the rest of the afternoon."

"Mowie marwthon!" Emily shouted and threw her hands in the air.

"Sounds good to me." Alexis said from her place behind the driver's seat.

"Sounds wonderful to me, Castle." Kate said lacing her fingers threw his as he rested their joined hands on the armrest.

He threw a smile to each of his girls, momentarily grateful for each person seated in his SUV, as he pulled out into traffic and headed back to the loft.

* * *

 **AN: Please comment, like, and review.**


	8. New Beginnings

*May of 2010*

He sees her on the main couch in the living room with a book held tightly within her grasp, and not just any book, one of his he notes with a smug grin on his face. Though, it does not last long as he sees a quick flash of pain cross her face when she extends her body to reach for her water cup. It has been a few months since the arson/homicide investigation had been wrapped up and Kate had insisted on going back to work in less than a month of being in recovery. He knows that he can ask her how she is feeling, but he has a pretty good idea of how she would answer. _"I'm fine,"_ has been her general response to everything and anything, putting on a brave face when the girls or anyone else is around. But he knows her body, her tells, her level of pain resistance and the list could go on.

"Are you going to keep standing there in the doorway or actually walk over to me, Castle?" She has a sly look on her face. "I don't bite. Much."

"Why, Detective Beckett I could have never guessed. Of course, we could go test out this theory right now." He responds with a wiggle of his eyebrows as he crosses the threshold to sit on the seat beside her. "Although, I am almost certain that we already have multiple times. Or at least tried to."

"Castle, you know what my doctor said." She narrows her eyes at him, but he can see the lust growing in her eyes and her grip tighten on the novel. She can deny it all day long; she wants him just as badly as he wants her.

"I know Kate," he turns his body so he is facing her and leans his head in closer, saying her name on a gasp. "I am only teasing you." He places one finger under her chin and tilts her head as she leans in. She can feel all of the heat in this moment pooling low in her stomach, their lips ghosting over one and another right before he pulls back. "What do you want for dinner? I was thinking fettucine alfredo, is that good with you?" He asks as he stands up and walks towards the kitchen, the smug grin reappearing on his face. She growls at him, throwing her head back against the arm rest and letting the book fall from her lap, hitting the ground with a hard thud and the title mocking him.

"Hey! That was my ruggedly, handsome face!" He holds a hand over his heart and pouts.

"And here I thought I was the one who was the biggest tease in our relationship," she says.

"But Beckett that would take the fun out of everything if I did not surprise you sometimes. However, my ego appreciates your body's response to it all."

"Your ego does not need any appreciating." She states while removing the blanket from her legs and folding it up neatly before placing it back on the top of the couch. Her plans of having a quiet afternoon of reading have already been interrupted so there is no point in trying to finish them now, especially with her boyfriend standing so close to her in proximity. _Yup,_ she thinks to herself, _she much rather be helping Castle cook dinner then reading their love life on paper._

"Kate, go sit back down and rest while the girls are both laying down. I can cook dinner by myself perfectly fine." He begins to intersect her plans to the kitchen and place his hands on her shoulder, yet even in her "healing state" she is more flexible then him and swoops underneath his arms to the cupboards. "It has been a long day-"

"For us all, you included." She interrupts him and he ignores.

"And you know you are still supposed to be taking it easy."

She turns around and levels him with a glare. "I passed my physical and everything to go back to active duty at work, starting _tomorrow_ nonetheless, and I am _fine_!"

"I know Kate, but we spent all morning at the zoo and you were chasing Em around for the better part of it." He is no fool, he knows that he can insist and they can have this argument _again_ , but it will change nothing and she will still help him make dinner. "Fine," he relents. "But you are making the sides and then sitting down ASAP, okay?"

"If it makes you happy, Castle," she gives him a peck on the cheek and wraps her arms around his waist feeling him squeeze her in return. It is a silent acknowledgment between the two that he worries about her more then she thinks he should. She would never tell him but she hates the amount of guilt and sorrow that he feels for her and she seriously wishes for it to all to just disappear and take itself somewhere already. Preferably, a place that is extremely far and away from their lives.

They pull apart at the sound of bare footsteps coming down the stairs and are not surprise when Alexis skips in to the kitchen to sit down at the bar. Her footsteps are faster and heavier then Emily making it easier on both adults to detect which one of them is coming and from where.

"Hey, Pumpkin. How was your movie?" Castle asks his daughter.

"It was good, Emily fell asleep halfway through and once the movie ended I turned it off and put the disc away before coming downstairs." Alexis replies while watching the two move around the kitchen with a practice ease and comfort. "What's for dinner tonight?"

"I am making fettucine alfredo and Kate is making-" He goes to place the noodles on the oven when his girlfriend interrupts him.

"Garlic bread and green beans for sides. Unless you wanted something in particular, Lex?" She turns to the teenager in question, raising her eyebrow.

"If it is not too much to ask, can we have chicken with the noodles too, please?" Alexis hops down from the chair and heads towards the cupboards to set the table for dinner.

"Of course not, Sweetie." Castle answers his daughter before she can even check the fridge to see if they bought chicken at the grocery store yesterday.

"Will Grams be joining us for dinner?"

"Nope. Your grandmother called to inform me that she is with her newest, "magical" companion named Paul." Kate and Alexis laugh at the grimace and disgusted look on Castle's face while she shakes her head in laughter at the quotation marks that he uses. No doubt to quote the earlier phone call that he had with his mother, frankly, she is not in the slightest bit surprised by Martha's words and actions.

"Remember Alexis," she redirects the conversation back to their previous topic. This is something that she has been meaning to tell the young adult for a while now. "This is your home, not mine or Emily's, we are only here temporarily as guest. If you ever want something, please do not be afraid to ask on our accounts." She pretends to not see the look on Castle's face at the beginning of her words because they are only here as guest and then they are going back home as soon as she and Emily were one-hundred percent healed and were both cleared by their doctors. _Right?! He did not expect for her to move in with him permanently after they had only been dating for a couple of months? Right?!_ She asks herself.

* * *

They finish making dinner in an awkward silence, Alexis running back upstairs to her bedroom after setting the table. She cannot blame the kid either, if she could, she would go run and hide somewhere too. She tries to make small talk with him but the most that she gets are hums and nods of his head in acknowledgment and she feels lost. _Is he mad at her? Upset? Shocked?_ She even attempts to crack a corny joke or two but by that point he won't look at her and she chooses to give up when their kids come downstairs and sit in their seat. She mouths a thank-you to Alexis for putting Emily in her booster seat for her, especially since movement of that type still pulls on her scars.

Once again, she owes the teenager a debt of gratitude for keeping dinner going as smoothly as possibly. Alexis had the conversation jumping from their day at the zoo, asking Emily dozens of questions to keep her entertained. She jumps in from time to time, mainly whenever one of the girls asks her a questions or makes a comment that she feels like butting in at. Yet, her partner speaks less than a handful of sentences and only when asked a question. But still, she says more than him and he's wordsmith between the two which only leaves her concern growing for him.

She had finished watching the dishes a half-an-hour ago and was set on going to find him when her daughter intervened and asked for Kate to tuck her in to bed. She, of course scooped up her little angel and said yes.

"Mommy, where's Caswle?" Her daughter asks and she cannot find it in her spirt to smile at Emily's mispronunciation of her boyfriend's name. She doesn't know what to say at first because bedtime routines are something that they do together, as a team. Like always and she has to ignore the stab of pain in her chest at the thought of their special word.

"Well, baby he is super-duper busy but I promise you that he misses you every second of right now." The words are out of her mouth before she can think about them, even if they are the truth. He does care about her daughter so much and she can feel her shoulders relax somewhat at the reassured look on Emily's features as she lays back down. _Though, shouldn't it scare her how much Emily has come to rely on him?_

"So, so much that he absolutely could not miss bedtime kisses and hugs." They both turn their heads in the direction of the doorway as the man in question walks though it and over to the toddler's bed. She studies him like a hawk as he kneels down next to her on the side and kisses Emily on the forehead. She does the same and follows him out into the hallway, looking over her shoulder one more time at the little girl in bed before closing the door softly.

Castle is not in the hallway when she turns around but she is not worried about where he went, it's their bedtime routine to put the youngest into bed before wishing the eldest a peaceful sleep. So she walks across the hall to Alexis door and waves at the girl just as he walks out and shuts his daughter's door softly too. Finally, he looks in her direction and jerks his head towards his study and yet, she does not know why she holds her breath at the slightest possibility of hope. _But it is not like she did anything wrong? Or to jeopardize their relationship-partnership-right?!_

"We need to talk," he says once she walks in and takes a seat on the couch, tucking her legs underneath her and placing her arm on the back of the couch to prop her head up _._ _She really is exhausted._ She remains silent and waits for him to continue.

He takes a second to close the door after her before half-sitting on the opposite end and leans forward towards her. He folds his hands in his lap and she recognizes it as him buying time before talking to her, but she tells herself not push him and to be grateful that he chose to open up to her tonight about what is bothering him before going to sleep. Lord only knows that she wouldn't have been able to rest at all. So she sends an encouraging smile his way and for the first time since he went silent while making dinner, he holds her gaze.

"I want you and Emily to move in with me permanently." He states matter-of-factly and there is no _way_ that she just heard him correctly.

"YOU WHAT?!"

* * *

"I said-"

"No, no, I'm pretty sure I know what you said. I'm just shocked." She has gone from sitting on the couch nervously to pacing around the back of the room. She is conflicted enough by her own thoughts at the moment that she doesn't know if she can handle his too.

"Okay, what are you shocked about?" He asks nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders as if this was just a normal conversation about dinner.

"WHAT AM I SHOCKED ABOUT?" _He's joking, right?_ Quickly spinning on the heel of her boots she turns to face him, he can feel the aggravation rolling off of her like waves of radiation just after a nuclear war. "How about you start explaining your train of thought first _before_ I end up going through the roof?"

"Okay…." He runs a hand through his hair and sucks in a deep breath. It isn't until now that she takes in his disheveled appearance; his hair sticking up in random directions from what she can only assume to be the numerous times that he has run his fingers through it, his shirt barely buttoned and wrinkled, his jeans covering what it needs to even thought his belt is missing, but it is the lines on his forehead and the mixture of emotions in his eyes that has her stopping in her tracks and attentively walking in his direction. He's sitting on the edge of his desk, finally letting her in and she can see the insecurity, the fear in his features.

She raises her eyebrows when he continues to be silent, _again._ "I just, I just thought that maybe since you guys have been here for so long already and that most of your belongings are here and since both you and Emily are already comfortable here and, and-" She cuts him off with the press of her pointer finger to his lips, silencing his rambling. He chuckles and she follows suit, dipping her head to her chin to let her hair form a curtain around her.

"Your beautiful, you know that?" Her head flies up at that comment while her breath hitches in the process, she did not realize how close they were and neither must of he because his hands find her waist and his eyes become stormy. And just like that, most of her anger is gone having left her in less than a second flat.

"Flattery is not going to get you anywhere, Rick."

"Not trying to get anywhere, just making a statement."

"That was more of a question." He chuckles.

"Your beautiful, never forget that." She chuckles.

"Rick, where are we going?" She needs to know; she needs the confirmation of what he was thinking.

"I don't know, I wish I could tell you but, Kate, wherever it is I am right here with you."

"You don't know that, Castle-" It's his turn to silence her with both of his palms gently grasping her cheeks as he pulls her head down to his.

"Beckett, you cannot lose what's always by your side."

"Your amazing, you know that?" She asks and he has his answer without her verbally agreeing to it.

"So amazing that you are going to let me accompany you to your next doctor's appointment next week?" He throws her that boyish grin of his, the one that he is well-aware makes it very hard for her to deny him anything. Nonetheless, right after the afternoon that they have had because now she only wants him close. She rolls her eyes when he starts begging her to say 'yes.' "Come on, Beckett. It is your _last_ check-up and I really want to be there!" She relents knowing that as bad as he wants to go just to go he is hiding his true concerns; he worries too much about her.

It is not until a week later as she is getting dressed that they approach the subject for a second time.

* * *

*One Week Later*

"Kate, Mother is here, are you ready, yet?" Castle calls, walking into the bedroom while rolling up the cuffs of his dress shirts.

"Yes, let me just grab a pair of my heels out of our closet." She replies.

"Did you hear that?" She stops walking abruptly and turns around to face him, one eyebrow quirking up in response. He follows her into the walk-in closet and wraps his arms around her waist from behind. "' _…our closet.'_ That's what you said," he spins her around. "You are already unconsciously referring to this home as yours too, Kate. Why won't you let yourself and Emily take the plunge and officially move in? Please, Kate." She sighs and that is the only acknowledgement that he receives before she tries to distract him with the press of her lips to his, her tongue quick to seek out his before she steps back and presses her lips together in a thin line. He takes a deep breath to keep from calling her out on it because as badly as he wants an answer, he respects her enough not to upset her before her appointment. Plus, he finally got her to agree to let him tag along, what's the point in ruining it now?

The car ride to the doctor's office is beyond awkward with the both of them waiting for the other to break, they are too stubborn for their own good.

The tension in the air is thick enough that he is one-hundred percent sure if she wanted to she could pull out her gun, shoot a bullet in mid-air and it would get lodge in it. This is not how he planned on the appointment going, he thought that they would be much happier and only anxious with excited anticipation as they held hands on the way there playing everyone bit the role of love star struck teenagers. He half debates if he should call and cancel the surprise reservations that he had made to celebrate after the doctor gave her the all-clear.

He was not concerned about her passing all of the test today. She had been given the okay to go back to active-duty at work for a week, but only if she agreed to come back a week later to see how her body was responding to the stress. Hence, the reason they are now stuck in this current predicament; awkward silence for another fifteen-minute car ride.

"Don't cancel the reservations, I want us to go out together and have a meal without the kids." He jumps slightly at the sound of her voice and she smirks slightly at the fact that she caught on exactly to what he was thinking.

"How did you-" She interrupts him before he has a chance to finish asking his question.

"I overheard you this morning on the phone with the restaurant."

"Oh," _so much for it being a surprise_ , he thinks.

"Don't be too tough on yourself, it's a wonderful idea. I appreciative it." He gives himself whiplash there because this is not what he had expected, the openness and honesty after how their morning had been going for the past twenty minutes. Nevertheless, the words are out of his mouth before he can stop them.

"Well, that's an understatement." He grumbles to himself turning his head back to the car window, watching the city fly by as he gazes at all of the coffee shops on each corner of Manhattan. He could really use a caffeine burst at the moment.

She pulls the car into the parking lot and turns to face him while her right hand intertwines with his left, giving a gentle squeeze and pull of it. "Look, Castle, we don't have the best communication skills. You and I are like that saying; never have, never will. But I say that if all goes well at the appointment and the doctor gives me the all-clear, we can go to the reservations, have a nice lunch like you planned for us to have, and then we will talk about everything. We will put it all out into the open, everything that we are thinking and feeling and see what happens from there, okay?" She looks him in the eyes and he is reminded of just how badly he has fallen for her when her green irises begin to plead with him.

"Always." A small smile graces their lips.

* * *

The diner that he made reservations at isn't packed nor is it a fancy place that a rich couple may attend but it is their restaurant. Out of the corner of his eye he sees her lips pulls upwards for half a second when he stops the car in the mostly deserted parking lot of Remy's. He pulls the door open for her and she is abruptly pulled to the side of the restaurant, it takes a moment for her brain to catch up and realize it is their normal waitress grasping her tightly in her arms.

"Oh, hon," Ann Marie sighs. "You have no idea how grateful I am for you, you finally received the green light from the doctor! When Richard called to make the reservations and informed me of his plans, oh, sweetie I was just praying every night that you would make it here to lunch today!" The elderly lady is still holding her with a vice grip and Kate takes the moment to close her eyes, breathing in the scent of the perfume Ann Marie favors, one that Kate vaguely recalls her mother use to wear every day. Since her Mother's murder only Martha's arms have been able to make her feel comforted in a motherly way.

"Thank you, Ann Marie." The waitress lets go only to guide her by the arm to their usual window seat, she doesn't have to turn around to know that Castle is right behind her. Her thoughts are confirmed when his hands slide to her hips and he steps up behind her and she turns her head to press a chaste kiss to the underside of his jaw.

"Ann Marie, you are a heaven sent." He says, voicing both of their opinions on the woman.

"Oh, honey, I am just so happy right now. But I will let you two lovebirds have some alone time, I take it you guys want your usual order?" Ann Marie asks, walking away without receiving an answer from either one of them. Kate can feel the chuckle that bubbles up through his chest and releases next to her right ear.

She steps out of his grip and takes a seat on the side of the booth which is facing the entrance, her detective mode never quite turning completely turning off.

"Do you want to go first or me?" He asks and she cannot help the feeling of dread that weighs in her chest.

"I guess I will but Rick, I am just trying to do what I think is best for both me and Emily. Especially Emily, and I know, I know," she cuts his protest off with the shake of her head. "You care about her, a lot and maybe one may even go as far as to say that both you and Alexis love her, and I love you guys too." She looks up and meets his eyes at that sentence, the words flowing out of her mouth before she can stop them and she watches as his eyes widen slightly. "However, don't you think that this is too soon? That we are trying to force something on ourselves? What if from the pressure we break?"

"Then we deal with the fallout _if_ one were to occur, but Kate, we have had this balancing act down for a few months now and what do you think will happen if we obstruct that? Especially with how little Emily is and I know that I am not her farther so technically I do not have a say in any of this and please do not get mad at me…and you are smiling at me…. Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"I am laughing because as far as I am concern, you care about her more than her actual father does so you do have a say in situations that deal with her well-being." His face must have showed the surprise that he felt as her laughter only grew loader, broader and more beautiful.

"Okay, well, anyways where was I?" His brows furrow together in confusion and another laugh escapes her, this one a little breathier than the last.

"You were trying to convince me that Em is too little and that her day-to-day cannot be 'obstructed.'" She answers him.

"Right! Thank you. So, back to my brilliantly thought out explanation-"

"Oh, I don't doubt it."

"Hush you now. I think -know- Emily is too small for everything to change back to how it was and that would also be very unfair to us after we worked so hard to get both her and Alexis on a normal everyday schedule. Plus, Kate, we work perfect with each other, on and off duty, and I just think that, that…I don't know, Kate. I don't want to lose you and I desperately want you and Em to move in officially. You have no idea how happy that would make me, Alexis and Mother included for that matter." By now her arms are folded across her chest in a clear sign that her defenses are up, her teeth are attacking her bottom lip, her hair falls in a beautiful protective layer around her face and his breath hitches at the overall resemblance she holds to a goddess. He is the exact opposite; his hair closely resembles Albert Einstein by his fingers running through them non-stop during his speech and his elbows are on the table with his fingers intertwined together almost in a prayer. Yet, he is praying because he really wants -needs- for her to say 'yes.'

She lets out a long exhale and drops her arms while running her fingers through her hair and mimicking his prayer pose before lifting her eyes to meet his. Both silently praying for something that only the other can control. "I love you, Rick; you, Alexis and Martha. I love you guys like you are my own family because you are and if you think that this is the next logical step in our relationship, then I am all in. Yes, I guess you could say that it is one we already took due to unforeseen circumstances but I am ready to make it official. But," she cuts off the 100-watt grin that overtakes his face with her hands being held in surrender. "I have to talk this over with Emily and see where she stands on this and I suggest you do the same with Alexis. Although, something tells me that she will be happy to our news." She lets a 100-watt grin overtake her face too while her right hand reaches across the table to hold his left.

"Were going to make this work, right?" The insecurity that she had been trying to protect lets itself be seen after their food arrives and they are almost done with their meal.

It is his turn to reach for her hands and give them a reassuring squeeze. "We are going to be amazing." He sends her his signature boyish grin, _yeah,_ she thinks, _we are going to be better than amazing._

* * *

They do not end up making it home until it's the girl's bedtime, Martha having given them the rest of the afternoon and evening to devote to each other.

"Alright," Kate says walking away from the front door that just closed are Martha's departure. "I think that you should go put Alexis to bed and I will put Emily to bed and we tell the girls then. No better time like the present, right?!"

"Right, and then we meet back in _our_ bedroom where we can have some private celebrating of our own. After all, the doctor gave you the all-clear today for _all_ normal activity." With a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows he presses a breathtaking kiss to her lips and begins up the stairs, it's her turn now to follow him without a word having to be spoken between the two.

They find each other again in the bedroom half-an-hour later. Him before her and if the smile on her face says anything than the matching one on his must speak a thousand words.

Their kids said "yes."

* * *

 **AN: Please like, comment, and review.**


	9. Epilogue

_They do not end up making it home until it's the girl's bedtime, Martha having given them the rest of the afternoon and evening to devote to each other._

" _Alright," Kate says walking away from the front door that just closed are Martha's departure. "I think that you should go put Alexis to bed and I will put Emily to bed and we tell the girls then. No better time like the present, right?!"_

" _Right, and then we meet back in our bedroom where we can have some private celebrating of our own. After all, the doctor gave you the all-clear today for all normal activity." With a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows he presses a breathtaking kiss to her lips and begins up the stairs, it's her turn now to follow him without a word having to be spoken between the two._

 _They find each other again in the bedroom half-an-hour later. Him before her and if the smile on her face says anything than the matching one on his must speak a thousand words._

 _Their kids said 'yes.'_

* * *

*Second Week in July*

She hasn't been able to keep the smile off of her face since they decided to move in together, let alone since they told their family and friends over a wonderful feast that Castle, Martha and the girls created together. It was quite the mess to clean up afterwards but it was a dinner that none of them would ever forget, the laughter from the girls and the complaining of Martha's cooking from Castle still rings in her ears nearly three weeks later. She rolls over and looks at the alarm clock on her bed side table while noting her missing partner and is surprised to find that it is a few minutes past seven o'clock given the night that the Beckett/Castle clan had. The girls had trouble going down, the excitement of today looming over everyone's heads but especially the "move-in ready sisters" as Castle keeps calling them.

She would never admit to it; however, she honestly thinks that if Castle hadn't coaxed her into going four rounds with him last night then she wouldn't have even slept at all. Not that she needed much coaxing anyways, and she is pretty sure by the matching glint in his eyes he was just as excited as she was.

Is.

The sound of hushed voices coming from the kitchen and the smell of coffee pulls her out from under his extremely soft sheets and comforter. She finds him standing over the stove and their girls seated on the bar chairs laughing as a pancake lands perfectly on her boyfriend's face. He rarely misses the pan, but when he does it is a sight to see and she is glad that she woke up. He will not be living this one down anytime soon.

"Momma," Emily squeals, pausing momentarily to thank Alexis for helping her get down before is colliding into Kate's legs.

"Good morning, it seems as if I was not the only one who had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep last night, huh?" She asks, receiving head nods in reply and tired yawns too.

"Here you go, my ladies, breakfast is served! Now, eat up and then go get dressed so we may begin the day's adventures." Castle says as he fixes a plate for the four of them.

"What time is everyone else arriving?" She asks referring to Martha, Jim, Laine, Ryan, and Esposito who were assisting for the weekend in exchange for free food and other luxuries that the boys and Laine had been able to sweat out of Castle.

"They should all be meeting us at your guy's old apartment at eight o'clock this morning." He answers.

"So, Kate," Alexis begins after swallowing a mouthful of pancakes with whipped cream and fresh cut fruit. "Are you and Emily excited to be officially moving in with Dad and I this weekend?"

"Yes! Well, at least, I know I am. What about you, Em?" She finishes eating and wipes her mouth on her napkin before carrying her slightly dirty dishes over to the dishwasher.

"Yes! Moov in, moov in." Kate turns around to look at her little girl who apparently has syrup and whipped cream all over her face, she sees Castle sneak a picture of Emily from the corner of left eye and she makes a mental note to ask him to send it to her later.

"Alright, little one," she says while walking over to Emily. "Let's go get you cleaned up."

* * *

She had never been so thankful for having a small apartment as she was today. It had always been small and perfect for two people, but she would have preferred the extra space for Emily. Especially when Em had begun moving around, she felt like her baby girl never had the area possible to properly grow-up and learn in such a small residence. However, there were also days like today where having a small apartment was nice because it kept her little one contained when Kate had been too distraught and anxious to appropriately focus on the whereabouts of her daughter.

Thinking back to how the day went she makes a mental memo to thank the teenager for her help in keeping track of Emily and keeping her entertained while the adults moved everything into Castle's SUV and U-Haul truck that he rented for the weekend. Surprisingly though, they had been able to pile all of the Beckett's items into the rentals between three trips sufficiently ending the moving process by mid-afternoon today. Thankfully, a whole day earlier than she had expected. She could have tomorrow to unpack and to her family.

She fanned her face with her hands, the heat of the summer having been an unforeseen problem. Well, the A/C in her old apartment being broken had been the unforeseen problem, not the heat. That was to be expected if one wanted to move in the middle of summer.

They had planned to do so closer to the beginning of the summer, sometime after Castle took the girls up to the Hamptons house for Memorial Day week while she had gone back for her first month of work. But then her caseload doubled, he had to go on a short book signing around the New England states, and then the four of them went out of town for the fourth of July weekend.

That had been last week and she was unbelievably grateful that their family and friends volunteered to help her and Emily move on short notice. Six days' notice to be exact.

* * *

Castle unlocks the front door to the loft letting the girls go in first, then ordering them to get washed up and brush their teeth for bed. She knew it was already way past Emily's bedtime and the fact that nobody had slept well last night forcing for the girl to be cranky towards the end of dinner at the pizzeria. Her and Castle had made the decision around seven to treat everyone out that evening as a thanks for their help.

She begins to go up the stairs when the man in front of her presses a chaste kiss to her left temple before telling her to go put herself to bed. By time she can think of a coherent response he is already stepping across the threshold of Emily's bedroom, and yet she still follows him. It is their nighttime routine that they both say goodnight to the girls.

A glance at her watch- her father's watch – after putting Emily and Alexis down shows that it is quarter before nine p.m., no wonder she feels like she can barely walk anymore. Strong arms wrap around her midsection and give her the chance to fall back into them, her head falling back to rest on his shoulder without her approval.

"I told you that I would handle her and for you to get some rest."

"Yeah, I know. I heard you," a breathy chuckle escapes him. "But _you_ should know that she would have just fought you even more if I was not there. And she was already being a grouch, so why aggravate her even more?" She turns in his arms and nearly falls asleep the second he lays her down on their bed, undressing her of her workout clothes that wore for their big move and redressing her in a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top.

She is teeter-tottering on the edge of sleep when his voice echoes in throughout the room. "You have no idea how excited and content that I am now since you and Em are officially living with Lex and I." He says in a promise to her once he is changed and sliding into bed, his arms wrapping around her from behind and pulling her back into his chest.

She hums as she turns and pushes him onto his back, readjusting them so one of her legs slips between his and her head is laying on his chest as she falls under to the rhythm of his heartbeat. "Us too, Rick, us too. Goodnight."

"Until tomorrow." She smirks at their inside joke, feeling a renewal of energy to continue it.

"You can't just say goodnight, Castle?"

"I'm a writer, Beckett. Goodnight is too boring, until tomorrow…sounds more hopeful."

"Yeah, well, I'm just a cop so goodnight."

"Always." She falls asleep with a smile on her face and somehow she has the feeling that it will be residing their permanently for the rest of their lives.

* * *

 **AN: Please like, comment, and review. I will be taking a break for a while but I wanted to finish this story first…I hope everyone enjoyed it.**


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